


Shutter || Harry Styles AU

by lisavslisa



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Falling In Love, Famous Harry, Female paparazzi, Love, Paparazzi, Sex, Sexual Content, celebrity, sex scandal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-16
Updated: 2020-08-22
Packaged: 2021-02-28 05:55:53
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 45,899
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22748935
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lisavslisa/pseuds/lisavslisa
Summary: Elle Acerman is one of very few female paparazzi’s in L.A. Harry Styles is a world famous musician. When she sets her sights on him, she can’t help but develop a massive crush on him. He’s tall, dark and handsome, and a genuinely nice guy. When Elle’s agent pressures her into getting a story out of Harry Styles or leaving him alone for good, Elle works up the nerve to ask him what everyone in the world wants to know – is he gay? Not long after, the two begin a secret affair, but nothing in Hollywood stays secret for long. When some racy photos of them leak to the media, Harry and Elle are left questioning each other. How well do they really know one another? In the end, will they be able to survive a sex scandal?
Relationships: Harry Styles/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 15
Kudos: 56





	1. One

Hopes and aspirations – she had them. Elle Acerman had big dreams of becoming the next big fashion photographer. She took the classes in college. She got a degree. But really, there was nothing out there. You needed to have connections to get into the business – and strong ones at that. You don’t just start out photographing for top designers. You have to pay your dues. Put in your blood, sweat and tears. And that’s what she was doing.

She started out working in a department store taking senior portraits and ridiculous amounts of pictures of crying babies and bored families. Her life was so boring, she could have gone insane in the clutches of normalcy. From there, she moved on to doing some landscape photography for a gallery in downtown Los Angeles. But she was literally drowning in student loans and she needed to get her head above water – _fast_. That was when she met some guys at a club that worked freelance as paparazzi. They turned her on to all the financial benefits of the job and Elle jumped in head first. Her first big win was getting pictures of up-and-coming pop music sensation, Justin Bieber, feeling-up his famous actress/singer girlfriend, Selena Gomez, outside a club. It wasn’t Elle’s proudest, most shining moment, but she got some fast cash and _a lot_ of it for the pictures. After that, it was like a drug to her – a rush of adrenaline and she was hooked.

The first time she saw Harry Styles – like, _truly_ saw him – is when she really started enjoying her job. She knew who he was from early on in his career. If you were younger than the age of thirty you knew who he was. He was one-fifth of the biggest boy band in the world during his teens and early twenties – _One Direction_. But now, he was no longer the squeaky clean, British pop-star. He was a tall, lean, extremely sexy man who partied and drank with his friends and was known to break a heart or two across the globe. Taking pictures of that man and his entourage became high on Elle’s priority list.

She didn’t particularly find deep meaning in her job. She didn’t get the satisfaction that most people did from a hard day’s work – not in her chosen field. A lot of the time she felt like a complete asshole. But she did it because she had to. And there was something about that man that kept her coming back time and time again. If she could have solely followed him, she would have – and for the most part, she did.

Having grown up in Los Angeles, Elle was never really star-struck before – and doing what she did for a career – but there was something about Harry that made her take a step back and take a look around every time she was in his presence. Maybe it was because of the way their eyes would catch and the smile on his lips would form only for her. She was convinced that for the longest time he just assumed she was one of his many adoring fans who followed him around taking pictures of him. Well, up until _that_ night.

There were rumors swirling around the internet – rumors she didn’t care to pay attention to, but ones her agent did. She suggested that if Elle was so keen on chasing that one celebrity around, she needed to really dig up the dirt and get a story out of him. Otherwise she needed to move on to someone like Justin Bieber who brought them the big bucks before. Elle cringed at the thought of following that little adolescent _boy_ around. She got absolutely no gratification, no stimulation from that sort of work. No, not like she did with the illustrious Harry Styles. 

“Hey, Harry… Harry, over here,” Elle shouted through the group of her fellow cameramen. Harry’s head turned in the direction of the only female voice in the crowd – _hers_.

“Hello, there,” he said, and smirked at her as she snapped a quick picture of him.

He stood tall – nearly six foot, with waves of haphazardly styled chestnut hair on his head. His green eyes stared into hers with an air of mystery and just the slightest hint of amusement. His lips held the most perfect pout on a mouth that housed two perfect rows of pearly white teeth. His clothes were immaculately tailored to fit his amazingly fit body. All in all, he was a woman’s dream – utterly _perfect._

“Do you have any comments on the new rumor that’s been popping up on the internet?” Elle asked as she snapped a few more candids of him. His eyes never left hers.

“And what’s that?” He asked, cocking his eyebrow in response.

She hated this. She really didn’t want to ask him the question. It was his personal business and no one _really_ needed an answer. But her agent was breathing down her neck about getting something substantial from him regarding the subject.

“That you started batting for the other team,” Elle said with a sideways smirk, trying to keep it light.

“What?” He cocked his head, scrunching up his face in question. Elle swallowed hard, wishing she didn’t have to blast him right then and there.

“That you’re gay,” she choked out.

Everyone went quiet the second she said the words. One of her connections in the business, Charlie – a guy who she teamed up with on occasion, was filming the whole conversation.

Harry let out a light chuckle, shaking his head, before he looked back at her.

“You’ve been following me long enough. What do you think?” He retorted, his facial features not showing a hint of emotion. Not a damn thing to tell her she’d stepped over the line or that he found any sort of humor in it.

Elle’s breath caught in her throat. What _did_ she think? Well, if she had her way, he’d be as straight as an arrow and irrevocably attracted to her.

“Everyone wants to know, Harry. They don’t want to hear what I think,” she countered, smirking at him flirtatiously. He laughed out loud finding humor where she couldn’t.

“Well, let’s just put it this way. There are about ten lads standing here and I only have my eyes on you,” he said, his British accent thick as he flirted with her right back.

The group of cameramen surrounding them and two guys in his posse all let out a collective _“ohh!”_ from his words. Elle’s cheeks blushed brightly as her insides twisted painfully. She was so attracted to him, it hurt.

“Have nothing else to say?” Harry smirked confidently at her.

“Consider me speechless,” she said with a shy smile back in his direction.

“Come on, Harry. We’ve gotta go,” his bodyguard said, starting to guide him along toward an awaiting vehicle.

“Hey. What’s your name?” Harry asked as he dug his heels into the ground, still speaking to her.

“What?” She choked out, caught off guard.

“What’s your name? I feel like we should at least be on a first name basis,” he said with a sideways smirk just for her.

“Uh, Elle,” she stammered, her mouth going dry in that moment.

“Elle?” He smiled, and she slowly nodded her head.

“Elle, I’m Harry,” he said, reaching out to shake her hand.

She thought she might actually explode as they touched for the first time. His hand was Soft and big and she could only imagine how amazing it would feel running up and down her body. His entire presence screamed _sex_. She couldn’t even look at him without thinking about it, obviously. He became her number one desire in those lingering moments. She could think of nothing else.

“Nice to meet you, _Harry_ ,” Elle breathed, making sure he could see the desire in her eyes and hear it in her words. She watched as his tongue flicked over his lips, before a mischievous smirk arose on them.

“Likewise,” he said with a breathtaking smile, just as his bodyguard gripped onto his shoulder, breaking his attention from her, thus breaking their hold on each other.

“I’ll see you around, Elle,” Harry said, smiling wildly at her as he got dragged away.

“That you will,” she told him, watching as they made their way to an awaiting vehicle.

“What the hell was that, mate?” Elle heard one of his friends ask him before they were fully out of ear-shot.

“Elle, I got it all. Oh my god. That was perfect,” she heard Charlie’s voice in her ear as she kept watch on Harry as he walked away.

Harry looked up at her seconds before he got into the vehicle, sending one last smile in her direction. Elle’s heart spun in her chest. She couldn’t even deal with the sensations floating through her mind and coursing through her body. He was definitely trouble. How in the hell was she going to be able to do her job after _that?_


	2. Two

Elle’s obnoxious ringtone woke her from her slumber inside her downtown Los Angeles studio apartment. She tried her hardest to ignore it, but the song pierced the airwaves, bouncing off of the four walls of the little space, annoying the living hell out of her. 

She popped her head up from her pillow, squinting to look at the clock, before actually grabbing her glasses from the nightstand and shoving them on her face.

 _Five o’clock_ in the morning? Was this person actually serious? The sun wasn’t even thinking about peeking out in the sky yet. Elle swiped up her phone, ready to give the asshole on the other line a piece of her mind.

“ _What?”_ She growled into the receiver as she flicked on her bedside lamp.

“Elle! Oh my god, hey,” she heard Charlie’s hyped up voice.

“What the hell, Charlie? It’s five in the morning,” she grumbled, letting her body relax since she actually had respect for this dude – enough to keep her from completely biting his head off, anyway.

“I know, I know. I haven’t slept. I’ve got news!” He said, his voice holding a much higher degree of excitement than her own.

“What kind of news?” She asked curiously, perking up only slightly.

“I’ve just spent the last hour or so in negotiations with _TMZ_ ,” Charlie told her. Elle’s eyes widened suddenly, wondering what pictures he had that he could possibly be negotiating with them over. 

_TMZ_ was one of the biggest celebrity blogs on the internet – not to mention they had their own TV show that ran on network television, watched by millions of people.

“For what?” She asked confused as she sat up in her bed.

“For the video!” He said excitedly.

“What video?” She asked, getting even more confused.

“The one of Harry Styles,” he told her, letting the excitement drain out of his voice at her lack of comprehension. Elle’s mouth immediately went dry with the turn of events.

“You mean the one of _me_ and Harry Styles?” She choked out.

“Yeah! That was gold, baby!” He said enthusiastically.

“Oh my god, Charlie,” she breathed, running her hand over her face, feeling the anxiety balling in her chest.

“I got a lot of money for it. And I’ve got your cut too,” he told her.

“Oh my god,” she sighed.

“Elle, what’s the matter? I thought you’d be excited,” he said, sounding disappointed.

“Excited? My face is going to be splashed all over the damn TV. _‘Harry Styles hits on camera girl’_ ,” Elle said, allowing the anxiety to continue to bubble up inside of her, leaving her on the verge of a full-scale panic attack.

“I think their working title is _‘Harry Styles hits on hot female pap to prove he isn’t gay’_ ,” Charlie snickered under his breath.

“Oh my god,” she groaned, her face contorting with anguish.

“Cheer up, lady. You’re bringing home the bacon now!” Charlie laughed. Elle grumbled as he told her he had to go and they hung up.

 _Shit, dude._ Her life was about to hit a bit of turbulence.

By the next night, _TMZ_ ran the story on their website _and_ their TV show. Elle’s agent legitimately when nuts over it, saying the publicity for the video was better than her Justin Bieber pictures by far. Elle didn’t think so _at all_. How was she supposed to show her face around her fellow cameramen? The guys she worked around already thought she got special treatment around Hollywood because she had a vagina. None of this was going to go over well.

“ _Elllllllllllllle!”_ She heard her best friend Bonnie’s voice through her apartment door moments before she heard the knock.

Elle sat motionless for a few moments, hoping Bonnie might just go away if she thought she wasn’t home. It was just past seven o’clock on a Saturday night and Elle was sitting in her pajamas watching TV on the couch. Bonnie would never let her live it down.

“I know you’re in there Elizabeth Rose! Open this door!” She heard Bonnie’s voice once again.

_Well, shit._

Elle pulled herself off the couch, zipping up her hoodie and straightening her hair as she looked in the mirror near the apartment door. Usually on a night like this, Elle would be in the heart of the club district getting what pictures she could of celebrities… and well, searching for Harry Styles. After her share of the payout for the _TMZ_ video, Elle was able to afford to take a weekend or two off. And that’s what she was doing.

With a sigh, she unlocked her door and pulled it open to see her best friend standing in front of her with her hands on her hips.

“Baby girl, what are you wearing?” Bonnie immediately asked, pursing her lips together as her eyes worked down Elle’s body, taking in the worn zip up and sweatpants she was wearing.

“I’m not feeling well,” Elle grumbled as her fingers tugged on the bottom of her hoodie.

“Bullshit,” Bonnie said, moving past her to come inside the apartment.

Elle closed the door and followed her inside. Bonnie was the kind of girl that was naturally beautiful and didn’t really know it. She wore make-up and used sex to make herself more appealing, but in all actuality, she could easily do it without. She had sweeping brown hair, with wild hazel eyes that drew in just about everyone. She stood a few inches taller than Elle and had legs for days, especially when she accessorized with heels. She was stunning, and had a personality to match. 

Once she swept past Elle, she quickly spun on her heels and rested her hands on her hips, startling her in the process. She looked flawless in a magenta baby doll dress and black heels, and Elle knew immediately what her plans were.

“Admit it. You’re hiding,” she said, failing at her attempt to give her a sympathetic look.

“No,” Elle squeaked, shaking her head and lying through her teeth. 

Truth was, she didn’t want to show her face after what she said to Harry. She felt like a fool. She should’ve just kept her mouth shut. He probably thought she was some lunatic and that fact scarred her ego worse than having the embarrassment of her face splashed across the TV and internet.

“Who cares if you and some celebrity were flirting on TV?” She asked, passively shrugging it off.

“It wasn’t just _some_ celebrity,” Elle told her, sending her a momentary glare.

“I’m sorry—you and the goddamn British pop star,” she giggled, sure as hell not acting like the doting best friend she was supposed to be.

“A really _hot_ British pop star that I’ve been practically stalking for months now,” Elle groaned, her face scrunching up with anguish.

“Well, obviously he doesn’t think you’re a complete fuckbag since he was flirting with you,” Bonnie laughed, trying to think positively for her best friend’s sake, in an ass-backwards sort of way.

“But I _am_ a complete fuckbag,” Elle said, plopping down on the couch, still stuck in her self-deprecating mood.

“Alright, alright. You need to get up, shower and come out with me and Lauren to the club tonight,” she told Elle.

“No,” Elle said flat out.

“Yes! What better way to forget about your problems then to get really drunk and have a good time with your girls?” She asked, pulling Elle off the couch by her arm.

Needless to say, Bonnie had quite an influence on Elle, because she got her out of her tiny studio apartment and decked out in a black sequined slip dress paired with her knee-high black boots.

Once Elle had a drink in her hand dancing with Bonnie and their mutual friend, Lauren at the _Hyde Lounge_ in downtown Los Angeles _,_ she felt better than she did in days. She was making much too big a deal out of what happened. And what _did_ happen? Nothing. Except _everything_ happened between the looks she and Harry exchanged. But the camera couldn’t see those looks or feel what they felt or thought what they thought. The camera was so one-sided – but then again, so were people’s opinions.

Elle let the alcohol course through her veins, letting it lower her inhibitions as the music pumped through her body. It was one of the best feelings in the world – losing herself so completely to the music, letting it control her. She just wanted to forget for a little while.

“ELLE!” She heard Bonnie shout, breaking her out of her revelry. She opened her eyes and found her friend standing just a few feet away on the crowded dance floor.

“I need another drink. Come with me,” she shouted, motioning toward the bar. Elle looked over to find Lauren happily grinding with a hottie not far from them.

“Alright,” Elle called back to her and followed her toward the lounge.

As Bonnie moved down the bar to order her drink, Elle stayed put, pressing her back up against the countertop waiting for her. She felt listless, like she was floating. She leaned her head back and closed her eyes trying to keep the euphoric feelings coursing through her body.

“ _Elle_ ,” she heard a male’s deep, velvety voice, breaking her out of her thoughts.

Elle slowly tipped her head forward, opening her eyes. Her entire body reacted at the sight of him. She had to grip onto the bar in order to steady herself as her body stiffened completely.

“Harry,” she breathed.

He stood there smiling at her – that perfect damn pearly white smile that she couldn’t even tolerate. He was too much, it hurt. He made her entire body rigid and pained just by looking at him.

“W-what are you doing here?” Elle stammered out in awe.

“Thought I’d check it out,” he smirked at her, shrugging his shoulders passively. There was a playful light in his eyes as he watched her.

“But you… you don’t come here,” she choked out.

She shouldn’t have admitted she knew that about him. But, who was she kidding? He knew she followed him. It wasn’t a big secret.

“You don’t know everything about me,” he said, continuing to smirk at her as he cocked his eyebrow.

“Apparently not,” Elle breathed, swallowing back her pride.

“It’s not fair,” he said obscurely, his face contorting in a look of question.

“What?” she asked, feeling sick to her stomach over the fact that she was carrying on a conversation with such a flawless human being.

“That you know so much about me and I know next to nothing about you,” he said, moving in closer so he wouldn’t have to shout over the music.

Harry’s presence was wrecking her. It wasn’t _fair_ that he was affecting her like this and that he was standing there as confident as ever.

“There’s not much to know,” she retorted as her cheeks reddened over the fact that he _wanted_ to know things about her.

“Everyone has a story,” he said, moving closer to the bar, taping his knuckle on it to get the bartender’s attention.

“Can I buy you a drink?” He asked with the slightest of smirks.

“Uh, vodka cranberry,” Elle said, trying to keep her voice from shaking.

He ordered both that and a vodka tonic for himself once the bartender walked up. She looked around, only to find Bonnie down the bar a little ways talking to some random guy, completely leaving her hanging with the one person on the planet she was trying to avoid by _not_ coming out. She put her in this position and now she was hanging her out to dry so god damn obliviously.

“Here you go,” Harry said, handing Elle the drink.

“Thanks,” she squeaked, taking the small glass.

“No camera tonight?” He smirked at her before taking a sip of his drink. Elle shook her head as she took a sip of her own.

“I like you better without it anyway,” he snickered lightly.

“That camera is my life,” Elle pointed out, feeling a sense of over-protection over an inanimate object.

“Hmm,” he hummed, eyeing her.

She stood there, trying to focus on anything but him, but it was incredibly hard because her eyes were so naturally drawn to him.

“I saw the video,” he blurted out, which made her nearly choke on her drink. She coughed quickly, trying to regain her composure.

“Are you okay?” He chuckled, looking mildly concerned.

“Fine. Fine,” she said, setting the drink on the bar top, wiping at her mouth.

“You look good in it,” Harry continued, smirking wildly at her.

“Oh my god. I just—can we… not?” Elle breathed, momentarily placing her hand bashfully over her face.

“What?” He asked with a look of intrigue in his eyes.

“I just… it was stupid. I… I’m sorry,” she said, feeling incredibly embarrassed about what she asked him that night.

“You were doing your job, right?” He smirked at her.

“How can you even say that so casually?” Elle asked him curiously, her eyes widening slightly.

“What?” He asked, entirely amused by her.

“I mean, we follow you around. We hound you just to get a story. You should hate us,” she said simply, lumping herself together with every other paparazzo on the planet as not to single herself out.

“I’ve never minded when it was you,” he told her, looking way too sincere for her to even handle.

Elle froze up. _Good God almighty_. He really was perfect.

“What?” He laughed.

“You _aren’t_ gay, are you?” She asked, as if she didn’t have a filter from her thoughts to her mouth.

“Did you really think I was?” He laughed outright.

“I… well, no,” Elle said, shaking her head.

“But maybe just a little bit you did?” He questioned, narrowing his eyes.

“I mean, like… you really can never tell these days. You… you dress well. You’re well-groomed. You’re just… you’re fucking perfect, okay,” she stammered with no filter, once again.

“Perfect, huh?” He cocked an eyebrow at her.

“ _Shit_. Did I just say that?” She asked, bringing her fingers up to touch her loose-lips.

“Yeah. You did. And you can’t un-say it either,” he chuckled.

“ _Shit_ ,” she breathed.

“At least I know I’ve got someone following me around who actually likes me,” he laughed amusingly.

“Well… _shit_ ,” she breathed, feeling so incredibly embarrassed. She wouldn’t have spewed out that verbal diarrhea if she were sober. Just, _shit_.

“Do you want to dance?” He asked, catching her completely off guard.

“What?” She choked out, her mouth dropping open as she stared up at him, all doe-eyed.

“Come on,” he said, grabbing her hand.

Elle quickly grabbed her drink off of the bar top and followed Harry as he tugged her along, out to the dance floor. When he spun around, her body crashed into his. But he didn’t seem to mind, because he pulled her body even closer as they began to dance. And she was almost sure she wouldn’t be able to handle herself much longer. Not with his fingertips digging into her hips and their pelvises grinding into one another’s. Not with the alcohol clouding her mind.

She could feel his hot breath against the skin right below her earlobe and it made her entire body tingle. And when his hand moved up her side, his thumb resting perfectly underneath her breast, she knew she was going to lose it. She pushed closer to him, which caused his thumb and part of his palm to move up over her breast and he did nothing to remove it. He just continued to dance against her and her against him. She was hyper aware of every part of his body that touched a part of hers and when his thumb flicked over her hardening nipple, she let out a low whimper. He moved his hand up to trail down her exposed collarbone and she knew he knew what he was doing. He was doing this purposely to get back at her for stalking him. He was trying to kill her, she was sure of it. She felt his lips drag over the bottom of her earlobe and knew she might actually die from the torment, from her _need_ for him.

“Elle,” Harry breathed in her ear, his voice husky and all _sex_.

“Hmm,” she hummed, her eyes closed, her tongue flicking out to wet her lips.

“You’re so beautiful,” he breathed low and seductively.

Another whimper escaped her throat as she squished her eyes shut even more tightly.

His lips pressed against the heated skin at her neck and every tiny little hair on her body stood on end from his touch. His hand moved slowly down her side once again as he dragged his lips over the line of her jaw. She could do nothing but let it happen, paralyzed by his touch. And she could swear the beating of her heart could be heard over the blasting bass coming through the speakers. It took what little intelligent thought she had left in her brain to remind herself to keep a grip on the drink in her hand or she would have involuntarily let it shatter to the ground.

When Harry’s lips captured hers, she moaned into his mouth as she kissed him back with everything she had. All of her desperation for him flowed out of her and into that kiss, gripping tightly onto the back of his neck with her free hand.

When they broke apart, they were both entirely breathless, their chests heaving. And she knew she was being reckless. She knew it was so stupid. They came from completely different worlds. She was a fool to think it was anything but a bad idea.

Elle pulled away from him, feeling shell-shocked. He stared into her eyes waiting for her to say something.

“I should… I should go,” she told him as she turned on her heels to flee.

“Elle!” He shouted after her, but she kept going, determined to try and shake herself of him.


	3. Three

Elle weaved her way through the bodies of people dancing in the club, heading straight back to where she knew Bonnie was, hoping Harry wasn’t following her.

“Bon, I’m gonna go,” Elle said, setting her vodka cranberry drink Harry bought her onto the bar top in front of Bonnie.

“What? Why?” She asked, breaking her attention away from the guy she was with.

“I just… I’m gonna go. I had fun,” Elle told her, sending a smile her way as she squeezed her arm.

“Elle, why?” Bonnie asked as Elle moved around her toward the direction of the exit.

“Just… call me tomorrow,” Elle offered her as she moved toward the door of the club, wanting more than anything to just get some fresh air.

Her whole head was a mess. She went temporarily mad underneath his touch, his kiss. _Dear God_. Did that really happen?

When Elle finally broke out of the building, she took a deep breath, dragging precious air into her lungs, hoping it would help clear up the fog in her mind. But it didn’t help. Especially when she felt a firm hand grab onto her arm.

“Elle,” she heard his voice and cringed as he spun her toward him.

“Where are you going?” Harry asked, his intense eyes washing up and down her face.

“I’ve… I’ve gotta go home,” she said, trying her best to not look into his eyes, but focusing on his mouth was equally as hypnotizing.

“W-why?” He asked, knitting his eyebrows together.

Her whole body stiffened when she saw the familiar flashes of a camera on Harry’s face as he looked at her.

 _“Shit,”_ Elle sighed.

Harry’s eyes shot up to whomever it was taking their picture, and she knew they were caught, and it wasn’t going to look good on her part.

“Elle, are you dating the virginal movie star now?” She heard a menacing chuckle, as Harry dropped her arm from his grasp.

Elle turned to find a guy named Lorenzo, who was a diehard paparazzo, a guy that was practically the leader of the paps calling her out for getting _special treatment_ in the field because she was a woman. The guy was a serious asshole and she always found it unpleasant to work around him. He was the type of paparazzo to start a fight with a celebrity just to be able to sue them when the celebrity lost their shit on him and broke his camera or punched him in the face. He called it a “bonus” when something like that happened.

Elle scoffed at Lorenzo and trudged down the sidewalk away from both men.

“Elle!” Harry called out again. 

What the hell did this guy think he was doing? Did he really want to be associated with someone like her?

“Elle, stop,” she heard Harry as he trailed right behind her. She also saw the flash of Lorenzo’s stupid camera as he followed them down the sidewalk.

“Taxi!” She called, holding her hand out, looking down the road for a yellow cab. All she really wanted to do was get the hell out of there.

“Come on, Elle,” Harry said, grasping onto her arm again.

“What are you doing?” She hissed in a low voice, turning to look him straight in the eye. He was absolutely crazy, she was certain.

“I just want to get to know you,” he breathed lowly, as Lorenzo barely gave them any privacy while he snapped an overabundance of unnecessary pictures of the two of them.

Elle’s cheeks blushed as she turned away from Harry, still trying to hail a cab. It was the first time she was on the other side of the lens, besides the night of the infamous gay questioning, and it pissed the hell out of her. It put her in the shoes of every single one of her subjects she photographed since she became a pap. She was Justin Bieber. She was Selena Gomez. She was _Harry_. Her stomach knotted tightly as a lump formed in her throat.

“Taxi!” Harry’s voice bellowed as he threw his hand up to hail a cab. And for some outrageous reason, out of nowhere, one appeared, pulling up to the curb in front of them.

“Thanks,” Elle said quietly, looking up at him.

He nodded, smiling at her as he opened the back door of the vehicle for her. She quietly slid in, just wanting to be away from everything associated with that night. She was glad Harry was just going to let it be, that he was just going to let her go.

As she told the cab driver her address, Harry slid in next to her in the cab, shutting the door after him.

“What are you doing?” She choked out as Lorenzo went even crazier with snapping pictures of them from outside of the cab.

“Drive,” Harry told the cabby.

“Harry, what are you doing!?” She asked him again, her voice straining slightly.

“Making sure you get home alright,” he told her as the driver merged into traffic, moving away from the club.

“I’m twenty-four years old. I think I can make it home by myself,” she scoffed incredulously.

“I want to be sure,” he told her with the slightest of grins.

“This is… oh my god. They’re gonna… _oh my god_ ,” Elle groaned, holding her hands over her face, slightly freaking out.

“What?” He chuckled, looking over at her with a cocked eyebrow.

“You and I are dating now. That’s what everyone in the fucking free world is going to think by the morning,” Elle told him incredulously. He just chuckled, finding humor in her worst nightmare.

“I know how these stories blow out of proportion, Harry. I have a hand in blowing these god damn stories out of proportion. And that guy – that fucking guy that was just taking our pictures is a ruthless asshole,” she explained to him, freaking out completely.

“It’s not that big a deal.” Harry shrugged passively.

“Not that big a deal!?” Elle choked out, eyes widened at him.

“People think what they want either way,” Harry told her calmly.

“There’s fucking _proof_ ,” she pointed out.

“There’s no proof,” he said evenly, shaking his head.

“What the hell do you think those pictures are?” She asked him, not even able to comprehend the delusion he was living in.

“So, they’ll be printed tomorrow. And by the end of the week, nobody will give a shit,” he said with a shrug, causing her to grumble under her breath.

“It’s not like anyone got footage of what happened on the dance floor,” he said, smirking suggestively at her, cocking his eyebrow seductively.

Elle’s stomach turned violently with his words. She squeezed her legs shut tightly, trying to stop the sensations that shot through her as the memories of his lips _on her earlobe, on her neck, on her lips_ infiltrated her brain.

“That… that was irresponsible,” she said, her eyes shying away from him.

“It was _something_ ,” he said suggestively.

“Just stop,” she said, shaking her head.

“What are you so afraid of?” He chuckled, finding pleasure in her pain.

“What are you… like, what? You… I— _ughhh,_ ” Elle stammered, letting out a growl of frustration. Harry only chuckled at her outburst.

“This is serious,” she snapped at him.

“It’s not that serious,” he countered evenly.

“Oh my god,” she growled, letting out a large sigh.

“I’m sorry. I just don’t find it to be that big a deal,” Harry chuckled, watching her from across the cab. She huffed out a breath, rolling her eyes.

“So tell me…” Harry said, trying to get her attention by cocking his head.

Elle’s eyes flicked up at him tentatively through the darkness of the vehicle – his face illuminated by each street lamp that passed. He was so beautiful, it made her sick. He shouldn’t have been allotted that much beauty. It just wasn’t fair to the others around him who couldn’t breathe in his presence because he was just so attractive.

“What do you find so wrong about all of this?” He asked curiously.

“About what exactly?” She asked for clarification.

“About me pursuing you,” he told her.

“ _Pursuing_ me?” She choked out, feeling her esophagus closing up with the words.

“Yeah.” He nodded as his eyes sparkled in the light of another street lamp.

“Uh…” Elle looked at him wide-eyed with her mouth partially agape.

He chuckled, before his tongue darted out to wet his lips. Her eyes immediately caught the action, and between that and the words he spoke, she was certain she was done for. One more lick of his lips and she just might pass out.

His motions were quick, catching her completely off guard. He leaned in grabbing the back of her neck, pressing his lips hard against hers. She was so flustered at first that she just froze in shock. But as his lips moved against hers, her lips became pliable against his and she was kissing him back. She was so desperate for this man, she found herself pawing at his shirt, grabbing it in fistfuls, trying to pull him closer to her as his tongue tangled with her own. His fingertips dug into the side of her neck, holding her steady as his other hand came up, grasping unapologetically at her breast.

“ _Ahem_ ,” they heard the cab driver clear his throat, trying to get their attention.

Elle was not aware of time in those fleeting moments. She was just kissing him, and trying desperately not to faint from loss of oxygen – or just from Harry in general. Her cheeks tinged with pink when she realized they were caught, and what they were doing was highly inappropriate with another person in their presence. She pressed her hands against Harry’s chest, breaking their lock on each other as her head snapped in the direction of the man in the front seat. He was looking back at them through the rear-view mirror with a smirk on his face.

“Your destination, Miss,” he told her in an even tone, thankfully not condemning them for their momentary loss of self-control.

“Oh,” she said, bringing her fingers up to her lips as she looked out the window to see her apartment building.

“Here,” Harry said as he pulled out his wallet, filing through the bills before he handed some to the man.

“Have a _great_ evening,” the man chuckled, sending them off with a salute of his hand, and Elle could do nothing but giggle at the gesture.

Harry pushed open the cab door and grabbed her hand to help her out. Once she was on her feet, he pulled her against his body, looking into her eyes. She looked back into his, wondering just what in the hell they were doing. How did this happen? Thankfully the cab was already tail lights down the road.

“I used to look at you… like, try to watch you. You were so intriguing,” Harry began to speak, causing Elle’s mouth to go completely dry.

“What?” She choked out, feeling her cheeks burn with blush.

“You’d be watching me, but I’d try to watch you back. And I swear I always felt something when I’d catch your eye. I’d see the same emotion come from you that I was feeling,” he spoke low and steady. Elle swallowed hard, listening to every word of his confession.

“That night—the night of the video, when you got my attention, I was so excited that we were conversing, I didn’t even care that you were asking about my personal life. And then you asked me if I was gay…” He said, letting out a laugh. Elle chuckled uncomfortably, still feeling like an asshole for asking something _so_ personal.

“I didn’t want to. I really didn’t,” she said and shook her head lightly as she dropped her gaze from his, feeling so incredibly embarrassed with herself.

“I could tell how uncomfortable you were,” he said, reassuring her with his words.

“I felt sick over it,” she told him truthfully.

“I’m sorry I made you feel that way,” he joked, bringing humor into the conversation.

“You always make me feel that way,” she confessed, realizing how ridiculous it sounded, even though it was entirely true.

“Oh, jeez. I don’t even know how to respond to that,” he laughed, taking a step back, but still held onto her.

“No, no. Not in a bad way.” She smiled, swatting lightly at his chest.

“Well, as long as I don’t make you physically ill in a _bad_ way,” he said sarcastically.

“Shut up.” She smiled timidly up at him.

“I really make you sick?” He asked, cocking an eyebrow at her.

“Just shut up,” she scoffed through a smile. He laughed, leaning down to kiss her and she let him.

“Did that make you sick?” He asked quietly, in that seductive tone he liked to lead with.

“Slightly,” she breathed, smirking at him.

“Wow. You’ll have to explain that to me some time,” he laughed blithely.

“It’s… hard to explain,” she said quietly, looking away from him again.

“Hmm,” he hummed as his fingers dug into her hips, pulling her closer.

“What is this, Harry?” She asked him apprehensively.

“What is what?” He asked smoothly.

“ _This,_ ” she said, gripping onto his t-shirt as he held her against his body.

“I don’t know. When I saw you tonight, leaning against the bar, I swear… I swear I was seeing things. First of all, I’ve never seen you like that – dressed like _this_ . You’re… you’re always in your jeans and _Converse’s_. Always with a camera. But you were there – in front of me – breathtaking, and I just knew… I knew that was it, that it was time for me to really break the ice,” Harry explained sincerely, making her really believe him.

Every word he confessed pulled at her heart and shot overwhelming sensations throughout her body. She thought she might explode or pass out or something. She just knew she had to have him. _Now was the time_. Without another moment wasted, she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, kissing him like he kissed her in the cab – hungered and frenzied. They were standing on the deserted sidewalk outside her building and she knew where she wanted to take him. She knew where they would end up. She slowly began walking him backwards to the door of her building as they kissed, and he went along with it.

Elle broke the kiss once they approached the door, only to reach into her bra and pull out her house keys.

“Clever.” He smirked at her, and she bobbed her eyebrows at him as she unlocked the main door.

“Come on,” Elle said, grabbing his hand, leading him to the staircase.

He followed right behind her until they reached the fourth floor landing. She unlocked her apartment door quickly, flipping on the lights and throwing her keys on the small table by the entrance, before also pulling her cell phone and some cash out of her bra as well, setting them next to her keys.

“What else do you have in there?” Harry smirked at her.

“Just _me_.” She smirked back flirtatiously, and she watched as his eyebrow slightly cocked from her words.

Elle took a few steps into her tiny studio apartment and turned to look at him.

“It’s not much, but there’s a bed,” she said suggestively.

“There _is_ a bed. I see that.” He smirked as he walked slowly toward her, his bedroom-eyes prominent.

“Do you want something to drink, or…” She asked, wrapping her arms loosely around his neck.

“Or?” He breathed, cocking his eyebrow as he held onto her hips.

“Or me?” She smiled as innocently as possible at him.

“I’ll take the latter,” he said, smiling widely before his lips molded against hers.

Their kisses took on a life of their own and her fingers desperately clawed at his clothing, wanting more than anything for him to be naked, sprawled out so perfectly for her. She couldn’t deny how promiscuous the alcohol was making her. She wanted to touch his entire body. She wanted to kiss and taste every inch of his flesh. Her mind took her there many times before, but this was the first time her little fantasies ever had the chance to see the light of day – or the dark of night.

Elle frantically pushed up his shirt with the heels of her palms before she let her left hand trail back down the smooth expanse of his abdomen. She groaned against his mouth as he tugged at her bottom lip with his teeth. _Holy hell._ Her body was about to start shaking with need for him.

He pulled back enough so she could rip his t-shirt over his head. When she looked in his eyes, they were nearly black, swirling with unadulterated lust and she was certain hers mirrored his in every single way. She moaned against his lips before bending slightly to kiss her way down his chest and stomach. His fingers tangled in her hair as she could hear the soft moans escape from his lips.

Her kisses stopped once she reached his belt buckle. And she was certain her fingers never moved so fast in their existence. She had his belt and pants undone in record time and she was kissing her way down his deep sex lines, right to the top of the waistband of his _Calvin Klein’s_. Her fingertips dug into the flesh of his hips, before she thrust her hands in the back of his jeans, pushing his pants down his legs.

“ _Oh_ , Elle,” she heard him groan as she continued to kiss his flesh.

She kissed her way back up his body, up his neck, across his jaw until their mouths met again. As they kissed, Harry leaned down, grabbing the hem of her dress and pulled it up over her head in one sweeping motion, leaving her in her bra and panties. His free hand grazed over her chest as his other hand discarded the dress onto the floor. There was something undeniably sexy about standing in front of him in only her under garments and knee high black boots.

Harry’s mouth came down kissing the tops of her breasts as his hands cupped under each one of them. Elle reached back unclasping her bra and let it fall against his hands. He smiled up at her appreciatively, before he peeled the fabric away, looking down to see his prize. His mouth came down to her breasts almost immediately, thoroughly teasing and tasting them. And she was certain she could have come right then and there from his torturous hot mouth on her sensitive flesh, but she dug her fingers into his shoulder blades and held herself together. When his mouth drug up her collarbone, she collected what mindful thoughts she had left and pushed him back onto her bed. He chuckled as he bounced backwards onto the mattress, and she couldn’t help but giggle as she watched him.

She leaned down, pulling off both of his shoes and socks before she discarded his pants altogether. Her hands rubbed against his thighs as he reached up, grabbing onto her hips to pull her down on top of him. Their bare chests met seconds before their mouths did as Harry’s hands grasped firmly onto her ass, digging her lower half straight into his hardness. She gasped against his mouth and knew that kissing his lips was not what she truly wanted right then. She pulled up, smirking at him as she rolled her body off of him. A slight whimper escaped from his lips and it only fueled her further.

“Move up,” she told him before she unzipped both of her boots and kicked them off.

Harry did what was asked and shimmied himself up her mattress. Elle got to her feet in front of the bed and hooked her fingertips around the waistband of his boxer briefs and slowly, torturously pulled them off of his body. Her eyes, her body, her entire being was so thoroughly satisfied seeing him laid out on her bed completely naked just for her. He was a fucking killer. The absolute most beautifully crafted specimen of a man she’d ever seen. She groaned as she dug her fingernails into the flesh of his thighs, unable to control herself any longer. One by one, she pressed her knees onto the bed, between his spread legs. Sitting down on her calves, she reached out, touching him for the first time. He let out a hankered groan, leaning his head back against the pillow.

“Oh, _baby_ ,” she moaned lowly as her hand began to pump him slowly.

“Oh god, that’s good,” he groaned, letting his mouth drop open, which was almost too sexy for words.

Licking her lips, Elle leaned down, wrapping her mouth around the head of his penis and he let out another groan from deep within him. As she worked her mouth around him, his fingers came down his body to tangle in her hair. His satisfied moans and groans were _killing_ her. And when he swiped her hair out of her face, she looked up into his glazed eyes and he gave her one of the best smiles she’d ever seen. She lifted her head up, licking him one last time before she pulled herself up completely.

“ _Fuck_ , Elle,” Harry breathed out exasperated, as he ran his hands over his face.

Elle moved her way up his body, kissing a trail all the way up, dragging her lips over his stubble-filled jaw-line before their mouths connected once again.

“You are so unbelievable,” he breathed against her mouth.

Elle giggled as she pulled up again, his hands grasping at her breasts as she leaned toward her nightstand. When her fingers finally grasped onto the tiny square package, she pulled up, already ripping it open. He smirked at her as she tossed away the wrapper, her body scooting down his. She rolled the condom down his shaft rather skillfully compared to how little she’d actually ever done it, before she sat up on her knees, ready to push her panties down her hips.

“Allow me,” Harry said with a smirk, sitting up as he wedged his hands underneath hers. Elle let go with a smile on her face and let him have his way.

His smooth hands rubbed over the front of her stomach, dipping down the curve between her legs. She moaned as she bit her lip. The fact that _he_ was touching her fulfilled so many god damn fantasies, it wasn’t even funny.

“You’re perfect,” he breathed lowly, kissing the patch of skin right above her panty line.

“Oh god, _please_ ,” she groaned, letting her head fall back, eyes closed.

Elle felt his dull fingernails scrape down her hip bones, pulling the fabric down her legs and she did what she could to speed up the process, kicking them off as soon as she could. She let her body rest against his as their mouths met again, slowly bucking herself against his hardness.

“ _Fuck_ ,” he sighed pleasurably and Elle knew she couldn’t keep it up, because she was teasing both of them unnecessarily. They were right fucking there – on the cusp with each other. She was entirely ready.

She left a hardened kiss on his mouth before she pulled herself onto her knees again, gripping his shaft to press herself down on it slowly. Her body enveloped him perfectly, and the sighs that came out of both of their mouths were of complete satisfaction. Elle took a few moments to steady herself above him, pressing her palms against his chest as she bit her lip from the pleasing sensations that overcame her.

“Oh god, _Elizabeth_ ,” he sighed.

There was something so intimate about the way he said her full name. Sure, it was the name her parents gave her at birth, but she never told Harry that. He figured it out on his own and it made her heart flourish for him.

She pulled her head forward, opening her eyes to look straight into his.

“This is… _oh god_ …” Elle groaned, unsure of what she could say to really cement the moment the way she wanted to, to rationalize her feelings for him, because in all honesty, her feelings for him were completely irrational.

“Mm-hmm,” Harry hummed agreeably, running his hands up and down her legs. He didn’t need rationalization though, because his eyes showed her he felt exactly the same way.

“Oh, god,” Elle sighed as she pulled up and came back down on him, beginning the pleasing act itself.

As her rhythm sped up, so did their breathing. Her gasps were coming out high-pitched and Harry’s grunts were coming out low. It was a perfect representation from both ends of the spectrum. When the pleasure became so intense that she thought she might pass out, her nails dug into his chest as she spilled herself all around him. When she could do nothing but ride it out, Harry grabbed her in his arms, pressing her down onto her back on the bed. He knelt in front of her, gripping onto her legs as he continued to drive himself in and out of her. Elle was gasping, and Harry’s grunts were ragged and savage sounding as he too lost himself. His hands came down on either side of her head, holding himself up as he panted hard, trying to regain his breath.

“ _Holy_ —” Elle sighed, running her hand through her dampened hair.

“ _Mmm_ ,” he replied wordlessly as he rolled onto his back next to her on the mattress.

Their heavy breathing was all that could be heard for some time as they relished in the feelings coursing through them. As soon as she could breathe again, she turned her body toward his and curled up against him.

“Here,” he offered, lifting his arm up so she could rest her head on it. He pulled her tightly against him and she let her eyes flutter closed.

“Elle… _Elizabethhh_ ,” she heard a soft voice cooing her name.

Elle squinted her eyes before she even opened them, knowing full well that the sun was blasting through her apartment windows. She slowly opened one of her eyes and Harry’s face was the focal point, hovering above hers. She hadn’t taken out her contacts from the night before, so his features were perfectly in focus the second she opened her eyes.

“Hey.” He smiled down at her.

“Hey,” Elle croaked out.

“I’ve uh… I’ve got to go,” he told her, looking slightly disappointed.

“What?” She asked as she slowly sat up. Harry pulled back, sitting on the edge of her bed, fully clothed, whereas she was still completely naked.

“I’ve uh… I’ve got a meeting with my agent today,” he said, looking at her apprehensively.

“Oh, okay,” she said quietly, nodding her head as she looked down at her hands.

“But, hey…” He began, catching her eye again.

“Hmm?” She hummed, feeling increasingly awkward.

“We can get together again soon, I promise. And maybe next time I won’t have to leave you like this,” he said with a smirk, and she couldn’t help but smile bashfully at him.

“You are so perfect, Elle,” he said, leaning in to kiss her.

“Not like you,” she breathed against his lips. He chuckled, kissing her again. They kissed for a few long moments before he had to pull away.

“Can I get your number?” He smirked at her, looking slightly ashamed that they did what they did without actually _really_ knowing each other.

“Yeah. For sure,” she told him as he pulled out his phone.

She rattled off her ten digits and he quickly entered them in, his thumbs sliding smoothly over the face of his phone. Everything he did caught her attention, from the way his tongue peeked out on the edge of his lips, to the way he ran his fingers casually through his already tousled hair. She wasn’t sure why he walked on water in her mind, but he did.

“I’ll text you so you have my number too,” he said as his fingers continued to type frantically.

Moments later, her phone buzzed loudly on the table by the front door.

“ _Voilà_.” He smirked at her wide-eyed and pleased with himself. Elle giggled as she pressed in for another kiss.

“I’ll call you,” he assured her, leaving one last kiss on her lips before he pulled himself up from the bed.

She watched him walk to the door, wanting nothing more than to pull him back in bed with her and discard all of his offensive clothing once again.

“Bye, Elle.” He smiled back at her as he pulled open the front door.

“Bye, Harry,” she said and watched as he gave her one last smile and shut the door behind him leaving her all alone to relive all the events of the previous night in her head.


	4. Four

Elle lay in her bed, staring up at her ceiling, remembering everything that happened the night before – the good and the bad. Nothing put a bigger smile on her face than the fact that Harry was still there in the morning – he didn’t run away.

 _Holy hell._ What did they just start?

Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on her door. And a wide smile turned up her lips at the thought of Harry. Maybe he changed his mind about leaving. Maybe his meeting got canceled. It didn’t matter to her as long as she got to see his face again. 

She wrapped her blanket around her naked body and dashed for the door.

“Did you forget something?” Elle asked, opening the door, only to find her best friend Bonnie holding a disposable drink carrier with two _Starbucks_ coffee cups in it, and a small brown paper bag with the infamous _Starbucks_ logo on it.

“Did _who_ forget something?” Bonnie smirked at her curiously.

It took Elle a moment to realize Bonnie had absolutely no idea of the events that transpired the previous night. She wasn’t even aware Harry was at the club with her. Elle ran out of there so fast, and with no explanation. She was completely in the dark.

“ _Ooh_ , you brought coffee,” Elle said, stepping out of the way to let her in, changing the subject intentionally.

“ _Elle_ ,” Bonnie shot at her in a warning tone to hint that she better spill the dirt.

Elle snatched the bag from her hand and looked inside with a smirk on her face.

“ _Ooh_ , and bagels.” Elle smiled, ignoring her warning.

“Are you naked under that blanket, you little hoe?” Bonnie asked playfully with her own smirk, tugging at the fabric.

“Maybe. Back off,” Elle laughed, pulling away from her.

“Who the hell was here? _Who_ did you spend the night with?” Her eyes were wide with anticipation.

Elle moved toward her small kitchen, setting the bag of bagels on the counter before she walked back to the bed, discarding her blanket on it before walking to her closet to dress quickly.

“You little hooker,” Bonnie laughed playfully at her, seeing that she was in fact naked under the blanket.

Elle chuckled as she pulled on a tank top over her head and slipped a pair of pajama pants up her legs before she walked back out to the kitchen where Bonnie was already toasting the bagels.

“So spill it,” Bonnie said, watching Elle as she sat down on the stool in front of her kitchen counter.

Elle eyed her, not even knowing where to start. She wasn’t going to believe her anyway. She didn’t know if _she_ even believed it happened. It was absolutely insane.

“Elizabeth Rose, spill your guts,” Bonnie pressed on, slightly aggravated as she side-eyed her.

“You won’t believe me anyway,” Elle told her matter-of-factly, pursing her lips together defiantly.

“Try me. You’re driving me crazy right now,” Bonnie laughed, rolling her eyes at her best friend.

“Harry Styles,” Elle spit out.

Bonnie stared at her with no emotion on her face. She just stared, waiting for Elle to say _just kidding_ or _yeah right_ or something.

“Harry Styles?” She questioned evenly.

“I knew you wouldn’t believe me,” Elle said, taking a sip of one of the coffees that had the letter ‘L’ written on it rather than the other one that read ‘Boney’ – _Starbucks_ employees getting names wrong since 1971. At this point, Elle just assumed they did it on purpose.

“You mean to tell me you hooked up with Harry Styles last night?” She asked Elle for clarification.

“Mm-hmm,” she confirmed, setting the cup back down, turning it idly on the countertop with her fingers.

“ _Harry Styles_ , Harry Styles? Like Mr. Virgin movie star, could possibly be gay, Harry Styles?” She asked in one long breath.

“He’s definitely _not_ gay,” Elle said, raising her eyebrows as she picked up her cup to take another drink.

“You hooked up with _Harry Styles!?”_ Bonnie asked more firmly.

“Mm-hmm,” Elle hummed through a mouthful of coffee.

“You’re just… you’re just too calm for this. You’re screwing with me. Tell me the truth,” she said, narrowing her eyes at her friend.

“I _am_ telling you the truth,” Elle laughed as she shook her head, because she _knew_ Bonnie wouldn’t believe her.

“Proof or it didn’t happen,” Bonnie shot at her.

“I don’t have proof,” Elle told her evenly.

“Didn’t happen,” she said, shaking her head as she pulled the bagels out of the toaster and smeared cream cheese on them.

“It did. Oh, hey wait!” Elle said getting up from the stool.

Elle padded across the floor to her front door where her phone still sat on the small table. She checked her most recent text message and opened it, letting the butterflies go wild in her stomach at the thought of her cell phone number now being a part of his contacts.

 **Harry:** _Hey it’s Harry. Here’s my number._

“I have a text from him,” Elle told her, walking back over.

“Hand it over,” Bonnie said, grabbing Elle’s phone. She stared at it for a long moment before handing it back.

“How do I know that’s really him?” She eyed her, causing Elle to laugh out loud.

“I don’t really care,” Elle said, shrugging her shoulders passively.

“You hooked up with Harry Styles?” She asked once again, still eyeing her skeptically.

“Yeah. His DNA is in the condom somewhere if you’re really concerned about it,” Elle said, taking another drink of the hot coffee in front of her.

“Okay. One more time and I’ll believe you. You hooked up with _Harry Styles_ last night?” Bonnie eyed her questioningly.

“Yes,” Elle nodded, giving her a slightly annoyed look.

“Oh my god! _Spill_. Fucking spill now!” She freaked out like she should have the first time Elle told her she hooked up with him.

Elle spared her of the most intimate details, but told her about how he sought her out at the club and bought her a drink. How he practically seduced her on the dance floor and followed her outside. She even told her about Lorenzo and how he snapped picture after picture of them on the sidewalk as she and Harry argued with each other about why she was leaving. And Elle told her how he got in the cab with her and practically told her how he didn’t care how many paparazzi came at them – that he was going to pursue her anyway. Bonnie was pretty much flipping her shit by the end of Elle’s small re-cap.

“How did this even happen?” Bonnie asked Elle, wide-eyed.

“I don’t even know.” Elle shook her head.

“You’re supposed to be like, his enemy. The evil camera-whore,” she beamed, clamping her hand over her mouth to stifle her laughter.

“I guess he doesn’t see me like that.” Elle shrugged, taking a bite of the thoroughly prepared bagel Bonnie slid in front of her.

“Are you… are you going to keep taking pictures of him?” She asked tentatively, making Elle really question it in her own mind.

“Uh, probably not. Not when the only pictures magazines are going to want of him now are ones with me. Lorenzo is going to blow this shit up. I just know it,” Elle scoffed, rolling her eyes at the thought of Lorenzo.

“So are you like… dating him then?” Bonnie asked curiously.

“No. I mean, we spent one night together. The bed is barely cold from the two of us. We’re just… we’re having fun,” Elle said, trying her damndest not to get her hopes up. That was the last thing she needed.

“Wow,” Bonnie breathed out in awe of Elle’s situation.

“Besides, I don’t even know if we’re going to like, even see each other again.” Elle shrugged, looking down at her coffee cup, feeling slightly idiotic for gushing about a guy she had no real ties to.

“You just told me how he was the one who wanted to pursue you,” Bonnie pointed out.

“Yeah, but… I mean, he got what he wanted, right? I gave it up,” Elle told her, feeling slightly self-deprecating.

“Shut up right now. Remember all the times you went on rants to me about how great of a guy he was whenever anyone printed anything bad about him?” Bonnie reminded her, making Elle’s cheeks heat up immediately.

“I didn’t rant,” Elle told her sheepishly.

“You kind of did,” she laughed, giving her a sympathetic look.

“Well, he _is_ a good guy,” Elle protested once again, her words coming out almost breathlessly.

“Then what makes you think he’s just going to walk away?” Bonnie smiled optimistically at her, really giving Elle something to ponder. She didn’t want to believe he would just walk away, but she didn’t want to get her hopes up either. 

...

When Elle received a text from Harry that night to tell her he was thinking about her, she had a mini freak-out as she lay all alone in her bed. It immediately forced her to believe things weren’t over between them. She couldn’t get the smile off of her face even if she tried.

The next day, Elle met Charlie for lunch like they usually did during the week.

“So Elle, I need to ask…” He started, his lips twitching up into a smile.

“I know what you’re going to ask.” Elle rolled her eyes, feigning annoyance.

“Harry Styles.” He pursed his lips together, giving her a questioning look.

“ _Lorenzo_ ,” she growled under her breath, hating the guy even more because she knew he had to have already released the pictures of her and Harry outside the club.

“He’s in negotiations with his footage as we speak,” Charlie informed her, like he could read her mind.

“God damn it,” Elle scoffed.

“Did you think he wouldn’t?” He chuckled, giving her a sympathetic look.

“I don’t know. Maybe. Professional courtesy.” Elle shrugged, feeling like an idiot, because she knew Lorenzo just as well as Charlie did.

“When has Lorenzo ever shown anyone any professional courtesy?” He asked her with a knowing look.

“He’s such a fucking snake,” Elle scoffed, feeling the annoyance wrap around all of her senses.

“I tried to get him to just let it go – to just give you a little bit of privacy, but you know him,” Charlie told her with a hefty sigh.

“I _do_ know him,” she said shaking her head. Lorenzo was the equivalent of stubbing your toe repeatedly on a really hard piece of furniture. She despised the man.

“Hey, not to change the subject or anything – but, do you feel like getting out with me tonight. I know you wanted to take a little break, but I was going to hit up downtown L.A. tonight. It might help you get your mind off of what may or may not be printed about you by morning,” he snickered, giving her look of quiet apprehension.

“Oh, _thanks_ ,” Elle said, rolling her eyes at his last comment.

“No, but I’m serious,” he laughed blithely.

“Yeah. I guess so. Where you headed to?” She questioned as she took a sip of her water.

“All around, I guess.” He shrugged indifferently.

“Yeah. Sounds good. Pick me up?” She asked with a questioning cock of her eyebrow.

“I’m there.” Charlie smirked at her.

...

Elle dressed in her usual paparazzo garb – jeans, a random t-shirt and her _Converse_ sneakers. She grabbed a sweatshirt before leaving her apartment to meet Charlie for work. They hit up _Katsuya_ – a popular Japanese restaurant – when they got wind that Zac Efron and some friends were dining there.

“Why is it that we always target young Hollywood?” Elle asked Charlie after he parked the car and they set off toward the restaurant with their cameras in tow.

“Because their fans have the biggest demographic. Sure we can take pictures of older celebrities, but this is where the big bucks lie. Get a picture of a young celebrity slipping-up and you’re making bank.” Charlie smirked at her.

“Makes sense.” Elle nodded, realizing in the real world, it was money that reigned supreme to just about everyone – especially the paparazzi.

There was already a group of paps scattered around outside the restaurant, waiting like vultures – which was really what you needed to do as a photog. The job called for a lot of patience. If you didn’t have it, you weren’t going to make it.

“This place is already swarming. Do you want to go somewhere else?” She asked him quickly as she looked around at some of the familiar faces she saw on a daily basis.

“Where do you want to go?” He asked her as he too weighed the scene.

“I don’t know. Anywhere where there aren’t already fifteen cameras at the ready. We’re not going to get anything here.” She shrugged as her fingers gripped tightly around her camera.

“You’re learning.” He smirked at her, a look of pride in his eye.

“I’ve learned that magazines and websites don’t give a shit about pictures that have already been offered to them time and time again,” Elle told him matter-of-factly.

“Bingo.” He smiled at her.

Right as they were going to turn to leave, a black SUV pulled up and their fellow cameramen all swarmed in to get their shot at a celebrity sighting.

“Well, who is this?” Charlie inquired curiously as he pulled his camera out in front of him, stepping forward toward the group.

Elle did the same, gripping her camera in her hands, ready to snap away. When the driver pulled open the back door, she watched as a big bulky man pulled himself out. Her heart began to beat wildly in her chest because she recognized the man. Her eyes stayed glued onto the opened SUV door, watching as a recognizable but not famous dark haired male got out, followed by another dark haired male. 

_Harry_.

“Elle,” Charlie said, looking back at her with wide-eyes.

Another guy followed them out, but Elle’s eyes were glued on the only man in the vicinity she ever had sex with. She dropped her hand down that held her camera as all the other photographers – including Charlie – snapped away. Elle’s eyes followed Harry as he talked and laughed with his friends as they moved toward the front entrance of the restaurant. Just as he was passing by where they were, he looked up and their eyes connected. His smile dropped immediately as his feet didn’t know whether to stop or to keep going. Elle just stared back at him, watching as his lips curled back up into a smile, wider than before. She found herself smiling at him, but knew they couldn’t be seen like that… again. So she gave him a nod toward the restaurant and he nodded his head in comprehension, and proceeded on toward his friends. He gave one last look back at her before going inside.

“What was that?” Charlie asked her, snapping Elle out of her daze.

She looked around bashfully, noticing some of the other paps noticing her. She really didn’t want to be known as the girl who fell for her subject, but that was exactly what was happening.

“Oh my god,” she said, bringing her hand up to her forehead as she turned down the sidewalk, walking the opposite way of the group. 

She felt a heightened level of embarrassment, because she knew the exchange between her and Harry could have easily been captured by any number of cameras in the vicinity. It was the last thing that either of them needed.

“Elle, what the hell?” Charlie asked, jogging after her as she continued down the sidewalk.

“Are you okay?” He asked as he caught up to her.

“I’m fine,” she said, looking both ways before she crossed the street, heading toward the car.

“What is going on with you two?” He asked, trying hard to keep up with her.

“Nothing,” she answered quickly.

“Nothing? Really? He just fights with you on the sidewalk and gets into your cab the other night and then tonight looks at you like he loves you – in front of many, many cameras, might I add,” Charlie scoffed at her, calling her out on her bullshit answer.

“I don’t know what’s going on,” she said, stopping in front of the passenger door of his car.

“Well, with the way he was looking at you, I can tell _exactly_ what’s going on,” he laughed amusingly.

“What?” Elle asked, shooting her eyes to his.

“You’re falling for the movie star and he’s falling for the girl that stalks him,” Charlie laughed as he unlocked the car and got in.

His words left Elle speechless because she knew he was right – at least about the first part. And the thought of it made her stomach queasy.

Right as she sat down in the passenger seat of the car, her phone started to vibrate in her pocket. Elle pulled it out and saw Harry’s name. The smile she wore couldn’t have been helped. And it only got bigger when she read his text.

 **Harry:** _You looked absolutely beautiful. Can I meet up with you later?_

The butterflies that pillaged her stomach made her feel thoroughly sick.

“It’s him, isn’t it?” Charlie smiled at her.

“Mm-hmm,” she said, nodding her head.

“I knew it,” he laughed, starting up the car.

 **Elle:** _Yes. My place?_

 **Harry:** _Give me an hour? I’ll give my mates an excuse and sneak away._

 **Elle:** _I’ll see you in an hour._

 **Harry:** _You will._

Elle looked over at Charlie, ready to make up her own excuse.

“I’m not feeling so well. I think I just need to go home,” she told him, giving him a slightly guilty look.

“Uh-huh.” He smirked at her, but didn’t ask questions as he brought her back to her apartment.


	5. Five

“So tell me the truth. Are you and mister hot-shot about to have some hot steamy rendezvous?” Charlie asked as he pulled up to the curb in front of Elle’s apartment.

“I don’t feel well, Charlie,” she said, eyeing him, trying her best to make it seem legit.

“You act like I am going to go out and report this shit to fucking _Wild Celebs_ or something,” he laughed blithely.

“You _are_ paparazzi,” she said, pursing her lips at him as she gave him the eye.

“So are you!” He laughed even louder.

“Yeah, but I know if I’m hooking up with _mister hot-shot_ , that I’m not going to go selling the info.” Elle chuckled lightly.

“So you _are_ hooking up with mister hot-shot?” He smirked at her.

“I… uh… we’re hanging out,” she told him finally.

“And _hanging out_ is code word for…?” He asked, letting his question trail off as his eyebrow cocked playfully at her.

“Sweaty, passionate fucking sex,” Elle said over-dramatically, with a playful smirk on her face.

“I knew it!” He laughed amusingly.

“Oh my god. Believe what you want, Charlie,” Elle laughed, pushing the passenger door open.

“Wear protection!” Charlie shouted out after her.

“Oh my god,” she laughed, rolling her eyes as she got out of the car.

“On second thought – don’t. A baby scandal would be excellent,” he said jokingly – at least she hoped he was joking.

“Keep dreaming,” Elle scoffed through the window at him.

“But seriously, Elle. Be careful. Being in the spotlight will eat you alive,” Charlie said with a straight face, letting the playfulness drain out of him altogether.

Elle swallowed back the lump in her throat that formed with his words.

“I’ll be okay,” she said, giving him a small smile.

“Good. I’ll see you soon, Elle.” He smiled at her as she shut the door and backed up onto the curb.

Elle watched as his tail lights disappeared down the street before she turned to walk to her building, camera in tow. With all warnings aside, she was still anxious and excited that she and Harry would be meeting up. After closing her apartment door behind her, setting her camera bag and keys on the table by the door, she let out a large breath of air, before a wave of excitement passed through her.

“Oh my god,” she sighed, dragging her hands over her face, reliving her encounter with Harry that night in her mind. His piercing eyes trained on her – the way he made her feel when he looked at her like that. He was incredible.

Elle toed off her _Converse_ sneakers and padded across the floor toward her bed, straightening out the blankets on top of it.

“You will be of much use to me tonight,” she said, speaking to the bed, before giggling at herself for talking to an inanimate object.

“You’re losing it, Elle.” She shook her head before she headed off to her bathroom.

By the time she went through her routine of freshening up, her phone was buzzing in her pocket. She pulled it out to see a text from Harry.

 **Harry:** _I’ll be pulling up in a few minutes._

 **Elle:** _Alright. I’ll meet you at the door._

 **Harry:** _Ok._

Another wave of excitement washed over her as she headed for her apartment door, grabbing her keys, just in case. She stood down at the front entrance of her building waiting for him to pull up, wondering how she would even know it was him when he did arrive. But when she saw that familiar _Range Rover_ park at the curb, she knew for sure it was him. She’d photographed him enough in that thing.

Elle couldn’t stop smiling. She just wanted to touch him and kiss him and love him for the rest of the night. When he appeared from behind his truck, she couldn’t stop her smile from beaming ear to ear. And Harry’s was equally as big when he saw her standing in the doorway.

“Hey, stranger.” He smiled eagerly at her.

“Hey, you.” Elle smiled back bashfully, all of a sudden feeling a wave of anxiousness.

“So tonight was a surprise,” he said as he walked to the front door.

“Was it really?” Elle smiled back at him.

“Well, I didn’t know you’d be out. I haven’t seen you out in a while,” he told her, catching her off guard over the fact that he took the time to catalog in his mind that he hadn’t seen her around.

“I’m keeping a low profile.” She chuckled lightly, trying to hide the surprise on her face.

“Well, I’m glad I saw you,” he said, wrapping his arms around her in a hug.

“I’m glad I saw you,” she told him, appreciating the contact.

“Come on,” she said, turning into the small entryway of her building.

Harry followed her up the few flights of stairs, and just having him standing in her apartment once again was almost surreal. She never imagined him being in there _ever_ and now with it becoming a repeat occurrence, it was blowing her mind.

“So, I have a question for you,” Elle said, smirking at him as they stood in the middle of the space.

“What’s that?” He asked, shoving his hands in his pants pockets.

“Is this like, a booty call… or is it something else?” She asked him, feeling a little unsettled. A wide smile formed on his lips, and she couldn’t help but smile along with him.

“So, do you remember when I told you how I used to watch you and that I am intrigued by you?” He asked, quirking his eyebrow slightly.

“Yeah.” Elle nodded, fidgeting under his gaze.

“I wasn’t lying. Please believe me when I say that,” he said, stepping toward her, placing his hands on her hips. She bit her lip, trying to modestly hide her smile, but it was no use.

“I am so into you,” he said in a low voice.

Elle took in a ragged breath as he leaned in, leaving a perfect kiss on her lips. He pulled back looking into her eyes and she was frozen, speechless, fumbling to keep herself intact.

“So, whether we end up sleeping together or just hang out, I’m glad to be here,” he told her with an air of honesty in his voice.

Every word he spoke made it harder for Elle to speak. So she decided to get the ball rolling on the one thing she couldn’t get off of her mind. She ripped her t-shirt over her head and grabbed his face, kissing him hard. His arms wrapped around her body, pulling her close to him as their mouths moved fast with one another’s. He began walking her backwards toward the bed, dropping her softly down on it as he laid himself on top of her, all the while being skilled enough to never stop kissing her. Her legs opened up for his body to fit perfectly between them and she felt his left arm come down, pulling her thigh tight up against his hip. His tongue was so velvety smooth against her own and he knew how to move it well. He was well-versed in the art of kissing, and she was in awe.

That is until he slowed his movements, leaving one last light kiss on her lips before he pulled up to look at her. Elle relaxed her body against the bed, looking up at him as her lips tingled and burned from the stubble on his face.

“How do you feel about me? Is this a booty call for you?” He asked her in all seriousness. Her heart flourished as she let out a light snicker. He was so endearing.

“Oh my god.” She smiled, looking away from him bashfully.

“Seriously,” he pressed, pushing himself up further with his arms.

“Don’t,” she said, pulling him back toward her, connecting their eyes again. She didn’t want him to move another inch away from her.

“Look past who I am. Look past the celebrity. How do you feel about me?” He asked, searching her eyes with his own.

Now that was a loaded question. And one she had a straight-shot answer for – just not an answer she was ready to give him. She was falling in love with him – second by second, minute by minute, hour by hour. It was undeniable. She fell for him from afar long ago, knowing nothing would ever come of it. But when it actually did turn into whatever it was now, she knew for sure she was in it deep. She was lost in him.

“You—” She stopped herself when her voice cracked.

She really had no idea how to explain herself. How would she explain it without explaining too much?

“I feel a connection with you,” she managed to say. His lips turned up into a smile.

“I don’t… I don’t really know how to explain it. I just… I really—I don’t know. You’re perfect. I’ll say it again, okay. I can’t un-say it, right? You’re perfect. And really, I’ve been so into you for longer than I care to admit,” she said, feeling her cheeks burn with blush.

She hated being put on the spot more than anything. But he deserved to know what she was feeling – at least as much of what she was feeling that she was willing to admit to at this point.

His smile never ceased, even when his lips came down to kiss her he smiled all through it before pulling back up.

“So, not a booty call?” He smirked confidently at her.

“Oh, it’s a booty call. Believe that right now. But let’s call it a booty call with strings attached.” Elle smirked back at him.

“A booty call with strings attached. Ha. I like that,” he laughed heartily.

“Yes. So do me a favor?” She smirked at him, cocking her eyebrow playfully at him.

“What’s that?” He smiled back, waiting on her answer.

“Get naked,” she said, pulling the hem of his shirt up his back.

“Gladly,” he laughed, pulling up to rid himself completely of his shirt.

The two of them began to unbutton each of their own jeans as he rolled off of her to kick his onto the floor, only to quickly turn and pull hers down her body. He came back up, kissing a trail all the way from her thighs on up until his lips met with hers again, leaving a firm, amorous kiss on her mouth.

“One of these days you need to let me just worship your body. _Ungh._ You are so amazing,” Harry breathed against her jaw as his hands roamed her body freely.

The mention of the future made her insides warm and fuzzy. She could spend every night in bed with this man if he’d have her.

“Anytime you want,” she said breathlessly.

“ _Mmm_. Open invitation,” he breathed against her collarbone as he began trailing his kisses back down.

“Literally anytime,” Elle giggled lightly under his tickling lips.

“I hope you know I am dead serious,” he said, pulling up to look in her eyes as he rubbed his Soft hand over her stomach, causing her muscles to jump erratically from his touch.

“ _Please_ ,” she begged, wanting him that second.

“Don’t worry. I might explode if I don’t have you now.” He chuckled lightly as he gripped his fingers on the side of her panties, pulling them effortlessly down her legs.

“Oh, god. Same,” she groaned, sitting up only slightly to remove her bra for him.

“Please. Get naked,” she told him as she tugged at his boxer briefs with her free hand, tossing away her bra onto the floor with her other clothes.

“Condom?” He questioned as he pushed the underwear down his hips.

“On it,” she said, leaning over the bed to dig in her nightstand drawer.

“ _Mmm_ ,” she heard Harry moan as his hand slid across her naked backside.

“Got it,” she said, pulling back up, handing it to him.

Elle watched as he ripped the package open with his teeth and rolled the condom down his hardened penis. It really was a sexy moment, for something that could be entirely awkward if you thought about it. But Harry made it so entirely alluring.

His eyes connected with hers when he finished. Just the look in them cut her as deep as it possibly could. He was so incredibly attractive. She didn’t know how she was lucky enough to get a man like him in her bed, but there he was – hers for the taking.

He leaned down, pressing his fists into the mattress on either side of her head as her hands held onto his side’s right at his rib cage. His eyes stared into hers for a few weighted moments before he leaned down, kissing her lips with a fervor she was able to match almost immediately.

“I want you,” she breathed, hoping he understood her hunger just by the tone of her voice.

“You’ve got me,” he said lowly, the side of his lips tugging up into a mouthwatering smile.

“Mmm,” she breathed through her own smile as she snaked her hand down to help guide him where he needed to be – which was inside of her.

Harry let out a Soft groan as his mouth dropped open slightly as he pressed in. Elle’s moan came out involuntarily as he slid inside, filling her completely. Before he moved, before he did anything, he leaned down leaving a chaste kiss on her lips. 

When he began moving, it was so satisfying, so exhilarating. And as he built his rhythm, going faster and faster, her moans came out as pants and his groans came out as grunts.

“ _Please_. Oh my god,” Elle found herself begging for what she was already getting.

Without even stopping, Harry pulled himself up on his knees, lifting her lower half up slightly to plunge into her at a whole new angle, hitting a whole new spot.

“You feel so good, Elle. So perfect,” he groaned as he kept at it.

“Oh, god,” she whimpered, feeling her entire body start to tingle.

She wasn’t bothering to hold in any of the moans she made. She knew Harry wanted to hear her. She knew he wanted to know exactly what he was doing to her. Her fingers dug into the sheets as a slow, toe-curling pleasure wrapped all around her. He never faltered as her orgasm ran its course. He just kept up his break-neck speed, blowing right through his own orgasm with a low grunt.

Harry breathed in deep and then let it out hard before falling forward with his fists on the mattress again. Elle let her legs down, stretching them, feeling the ache in the muscles between them.

“Oh my god,” she sighed happily as Harry pulled out of her.

Harry chuckled as he rolled off of her to sit at the end of her bed, running his fingers through his hair before he began to take off the condom.

“I’m going to go use the bathroom,” he said, looking back at her with a small smile.

“Be my guest.” She smiled at him through her half-lidded eyes.

Watching his sexy naked ass saunter away toward the only room with a door in her apartment was an amazing sight. She lay in her bed with a smile on her face, feeling closer emotionally to him than she ever felt before.

When he came back out a few minutes later, she was still lying above the covers of her bed, lost in her own head. Fantasies of the future ran through her mind, but along with that, the warning that Charlie articulated as he dropped her off that night pillaged right through those fantasies. 

_Be careful. Being in the spotlight will eat you alive._

And Elle knew this thing they just created with each other needed to stay just how it was – between them and not left in the hands of the whole entire world. After seeing the way the media worked, the intricate balance between everyday life and scandal, she knew her privacy was a sacred thing. And she wanted to keep it that way.

“Hey, you,” Harry cooed as he slid back in bed with her, his hand placed on her bare stomach.

“Hey,” she said, turning her head toward him as he left a kiss on her lips.

“We should talk,” Elle told him carefully.

“Whoa. A talk… already?” He chuckled playfully, cocking his eyebrow in question at her.

“I’m sorry. I just… I’m sorry,” she said, sitting up, running her hands through her hair.

“Whoa. Elle, what’s going on?” He asked, sitting up next to her.

“I just… I want to make a few things perfectly clear. I mean, if we’re, you know… headed in a certain direction,” she said, looking over at him cautiously.

“I’d like to be headed in that certain direction,” he told her with a sly smile.

Elle took in a ragged uneasy breath with his words, nodding her head as her fingers knotted together in front of her.

“Are you… do you want to be headed in that direction too?” He asked as his smile vanished into a look of worry.

“I do. Harry, I do. I just… forgive me for being a little careful here,” she told him as her eyes darted away from his.

“Careful because of me?” He asked softly.

“Careful because of who you are,” she clarified, finally looking back up at him.

“Because of who I am?” He asked, a look of confusion plaguing his beautiful features.

“Not you as a person, but you… as a celebrity – someone who is photographed on a daily basis. You can’t breathe without someone taking a picture of you,” Elle explained as best she could. It was not a life she ever wanted to be a part of. She was happy being on the other side of the lens.

“I get that you’re concerned, being who you are, doing what you do.” He nodded, this time looking away from her, and it almost made her feel shameful for what she chose to do to make a living.

“I never intended to ever be on the other side of the lens. And frankly, I don’t want that,” she confessed, her voice cracking with the words.

“Oh,” he said softly, letting his features drop slightly in disappointment.

“I’m not saying I don’t want to see you. Because, _oh god_ , I do. I’m just saying we really need to keep a low profile. I’m _me_ and you are _you_. We both have obligations. We both have people to answer to. And I think if we… you know, go around flaunting this, it might get ugly. And I don’t want that… at all,” Elle explained, trying her best to make him understand her side. His eyes watched her, darting back and forth, and it made her wonder what he was thinking.

“Okay,” he agreed after a few moments of quiet contemplation.

“Okay?” She asked hopefully.

“Okay. I’m okay with that,” he smiled at her, kissing her quickly.

Elle took a deep breath and let it out, feeling the weight on her mind and heart being lifted.

“But you know, Britney Spears dated a paparazzi once and it didn’t turn out so bad for either of them, did it?” He mentioned, giving her a sideways smile. Elle smiled back at him and rolled her eyes.

“I’m pretty sure there were like, restraining orders involved with that. Besides, it’s a completely different playing field being a woman in my industry. You don’t see much of us around. It’s because it’s a man’s world. That guy who dated Britney was probably crowned king for bagging her. I would probably be verbally attacked over and over again because I have a vagina and I apparently get special treatment because of it. It’s ridiculous. And it’s just not a battle I am ready to fight right now,” Elle told him honestly. He nodded in understanding as he moved in closer.

“It’s okay. I like my privacy,” he breathed against her lips before kissing her.

As quickly as the kiss happened, it was even quicker that he grabbed her around the waist and tackled her onto the bed playfully, hovering over her body.

“Now… about that body worshipping.” He smiled seductively down at her, leaving her to giggle like a little girl.

This was definitely something she was looking forward to getting used to.


	6. Six

Suddenly every paparazzi Elle ever knew, that she was ever acquainted with, was trying to hit her up for a story. They all saw Lorenzo’s photos of her and Harry’s heated conversation outside of the club, and the shining proof that something was sure to be going on with them when Harry jumped in the cab with her. And they all wanted answers. Elle was starting to feel like a pariah. Charlie told her it would die down eventually, but she was beginning to find it hard even going out to do her job with her colleagues all turning on her.

Luckily she wasn’t one to sit back and watch her whole world fall apart from one tiny, insignificant photo spread. She held her head high with dignity and kept at her normal routine. Those bastards didn’t need to know anything. What happened in the confines of her private life would stay private. And it did for nearly two weeks. Elle and Harry kept a low profile and everything with him was going swimmingly as they started getting to know each other both physically and emotionally.

It couldn’t be helped that he was the first thing on her mind when she woke up and the last thing on her mind when she went to bed. The latter could be due to the fact that he was either lying right next to her when she fell asleep or had occupied her bed with her just prior to her falling asleep. All she knew was Harry’s hips against her hips brought out the deepest urges from inside of her and she loved every second of it. And _fuck_ , could it really be held against her for wanting to lose herself so thoroughly with him? It really couldn’t be helped with his lips on her throat and his fingertips digging into the flesh of her hip bones.

“ _God_ , Harry,” Elle gasped, feeling him thrust against her.

It was the third night that week that he came over for an _off-the-record_ rendezvous. It was something Elle enjoyed immensely. From the way he looked at her – the Soft, sparkling gleam in his eye whenever their eyes met – to the way he touched her, kissed her, _fucked_ her. Her body never felt as good as when he took control of it.

Elle lay naked, sprawled out across her bed for him as he kissed and licked and nipped what felt like every inch of her skin. She was slowly losing her mind with his attention to detail, his unrelenting way of keeping her body writhing below him.

“Please, Harry… just… _please_ ,” Elle whimpered, begging for him to give her what she wanted and needed.

“Please, what?” His voice coming out huskier than usual as his lips and tongue glided back up over her throat.

“Please just… _please_ …” She whimpered again.

“Please, _what?”_ He asked again, thrusting himself against her center.

“Fuck me, Harry… just fuck me. I can’t… _oh my god_ ,” Elle said, gripping her hair between her fingers as her body arched up toward him.

She heard his Soft chuckle before his lips came down firmly against her own. Her mouth immediately welcomed his kisses and his warm tongue as she felt his hand snake down between them. Seconds later, he pushed inside and her body, once again, involuntarily arched into him as her mouth dropped open letting out a pleasing moan.

“You are the sexiest woman on the planet, Elle,” Harry cooed against her lips.

Words were too hard for her brain to put together in the moment, so she let out another moan in response as he began his entrancing rhythm.

Every thrust, every strategic kiss was damning – in the way that she knew she’d never be able to get enough of him, in the way she knew no other man would ever compare. Not to Harry. Not to the man she fell for behind a camera lens. Not to the man who she could feel her heartstrings being tethered to.

She was beginning to realize how attached to him she got in such a short time. His ragged breathing, his face buried deep in the nape of her neck, his skin against hers – all things she found absolutely intoxicating. But it was everything else too. The way his smile made her feel better, the way his eyebrows arched when his expression changed, the beauty marks on his skin that her fingers and lips traveled like it was a road map of his body, the sound of his laugh, the big heart beating inside of his chest. He was truly something else, something she treasured.

As the waves of pleasure crashed through her body, she let out a satisfying moan. Harry held her body tightly to his, his face buried in the nape of her neck as his lower body still did all the work. Elle could tell he was close because he was starting to lose his rhythm against her.

“You’re amazing,” she breathed against the side of his neck before she left a small kiss there.

And as if on cue, Harry spilled himself in her, letting out a loud breath before ceasing all motion.

“ _Mmm_ ,” she hummed as she trailed her fingertips up and down the tight muscles on his back.

“Oh god, Elle,” Harry sighed pleasingly as he rolled over onto the mattress.

As their breathing evened out post-coitus, all Elle could think about was how amazing everything felt. How just a few weeks ago her life seemed to be a string of repetitive days, feeling like a burden on most people because of what she made a living doing. But now, because of her job, she found her way to Harry. And he put the brightness in her world. He put the smile on her face and the butterflies in her stomach.

Elle turned her head to look over at him and he did the same, giving her a beaming smile.

“You know, I might keep you around,” Elle giggled as she pressed her palm against her forehead.

“Ha! That’s the only reason, huh? The sex?” He laughed boisterously as he reached over and poked at her side.

“I mean, there are _other_ things too,” she said, turning her body toward him, giving him a small smile as she wrapped her arms around his middle.

“Other things?” He asked, trying to look down at her.

“Yeah. Other things,” she breathed quietly, burying her face into his ribcage.

She knew it was probably too soon into their little arrangement to be confessing exactly what she was feeling for him, so she buried it. She kept her words vague and brushed them off as she held him in her arms.

Harry kissed her forehead before pulling away, only to get up out of the bed. Elle watched as he pulled on his black _Calvin Klein_ boxer briefs and sauntered to the bathroom, leaving her all alone in the cold bed. She lay there, pulling her legs up to her chest wrapping her arms around them, just waiting for him to come back. She wasn’t sure why, but having these feelings for him – these feelings that made her want to burst – only made her feel like a vulnerable mess. She didn’t want to be _that girl_. She never wanted to be _that girl_. But slowly she was realizing what it would do to her if she lost what they had – if she lost _him_.

Elle was broken out of her thoughts as she heard Harry’s bare feet pad across the wood floor. She looked up for a moment before she buried her face back into the tops of her knees.

“What are you doing?” Harry chuckled, standing over the bed.

“Nothing,” she said, her response muffled by her knees.

“Are you cold? There’re blankets you know,” he told her, tugging lightly at the bed coverings she was laying on.

“No,” she told him with a light shrug.

Her head snapped up toward Harry when she saw a camera flash. He stood above her, holding her camera with a big goofy grin on his face.

“What are you doing?” She smirked at him, letting her body relax a little.

“Takin’ pictures,” he said with a mischievous smile as he pushed the button and the shutter opened then closed as the flash lit up the room.

“Harry,” Elle said in a warning tone as he took another picture of her.

“You’re beautiful,” he told her as he continued to snap away.

“I’m naked,” she retorted, furrowing her brow at him disapprovingly.

“Like I said, you’re beautiful,” he said with an innocent smile on his lips.

“I don’t like this,” she groaned, giving him a playful glare as she tightened her body back up into the fetal position.

“Oh, what? You can dish it out, but you can’t take it?” He smirked at her, snapping another picture.

“I never said that,” she shot back at him with a smirk, letting her body relax again. He was challenging her, she could feel it.

In all honesty, she _did_ hate getting her picture taken. And fuck, having your picture taken while you’re completely nude would make any girl a little self-conscious. But it was her camera. She could delete every single frame the second she got her hands on it. And it was Harry. If he wanted to have some fun, she was going to let him.

“Have I told you how sexy you are?” He smiled wryly, as he continued to snap photos of her.

“ _Mmm_ , not today,” she sighed, knowing full well he said it at least a few times in the last hour or so.

“Well, you are,” he said sincerely, snapping a few more unorganized pictures.

That’s the thing about Harry, she barely knew him, but it wasn’t hard to tell if he was being sincere. Honesty dripped out of his pores. He could fuck her better than anyone ever had, be as dirty as he wanted to be. But in the end, he was just a good boy.

“If you’re gonna take pictures, be serious about it,” Elle challenged him as a laugh escaped her lips.

“Oh, I am,” he said, looking down at the back screen of the camera before he snapped another one of her.

“You’re lucky I haven’t snapped nudes of you,” she threatened, pursing her lips at him as she tried to hide her smile.

“I want every single copy of these pictures.” He smirked, ignoring her empty threat.

“Not likely!” Elle laughed loudly.

“They’re mine!” He protested.

“It’s _my_ camera,” she retorted, pressing her hands against her hips.

“It’s _my_ masterpiece!” He laughed as he scrolled through the pictures he took.

“You’re insane,” she giggled, rolling her eyes at him.

“I’m serious,” he said, letting his laughter die off as he continued to photograph her.

She watched as his fingers fiddled with the dials and buttons on the camera, turning the focus and moving the direction of the flash. He knew what he was doing and to her, it was incredibly sexy.

“Sleep over,” she suggested, spur of the moment.

“You want me to sleep over?” He asked, turning the focus knob, snapping one last picture of her.

“Yes. I want you to sleep over,” she told him.

He let the camera drop down away from his face and looked at her.

“Okay,” he said sincerely.

“Okay.” She smiled back at him.

He walked over to the side of the bed and just before he put the camera back on her nightstand, he took a picture of his own face.

“You’re a dork,” she laughed as he switched off the light, letting the moonlight stream through the windows.

“ _Mmm_ , but that’s okay. That’s why you like me,” he sighed, dropping back down in the bed, wrapping his arms around her immediately.

“Who says I like you?” She giggled.

“ _Mmm_ , I can tell,” he said, nuzzling his nose against her cheek.

“You can, huh?” She smiled widely.

“I can,” he told her, squeezing her a little tighter in his arms.

“I do,” she breathed, letting the moment go serious.

“I like you too, Elle,” he told her.

And her smile came back with a vengeance.


	7. Seven

Elle didn’t see Harry for four days. He was out of her life for _four_ days. And to be particularly honest, she actually missed him quite a bit. They didn’t even cross paths around Los Angeles and that was saying something. He was around, she knew that much. He didn’t jet-set off to some obscure country with another girl or anything. He was just busy. There were a few casual text conversations, but there was no real talk of getting together to see each other, no talk of continuing what they started.

“Elle, you’re bringing me shit,” Kate, Elle’s agent, told her after she handed her some snapshots of Liam Hemsworth and Miley Cyrus having a lunch date together days after he proposed her hand in marriage.

“I’ve been out. There’s just nothing, okay,” Elle told her dryly.

“There’s always something,” Kate said, giving her a look of bullshit, tossing the photos down in front of Elle.

“Kate, I’m serious right now. This is the shit I am getting because this is the shit that’s out there,” Elle said, sliding the pictures back across her desk toward her.

“And what about that boyfriend of yours?” She pointed out.

“What boyfriend?” Elle asked, trying to keep her composure as visions of Harry spun around her head. He was not her boyfriend by any means, but Elle knew where she was going with the question.

“That boy bander. What’s his name – Harry?” She cocked her eyebrow at Elle.

“One; He’s not in a boy band anymore. And Two; He’s _not_ my boyfriend. I barely know the guy,” Elle told her, hoping the blush in her cheeks wasn’t going to give her away too easily.

“You barely know the guy? Okay. Explain to me every piece of footage I’ve seen of the two of you in the past couple of weeks.” Kate eyed her knowingly. Kate knew she had her. Elle knew she had her.

“It’s… it’s nothing. I mean, god… I don’t even know the guy,” Elle told her, speaking half-truths.

Elle and Harry knew each other pretty well when it came to sharing orgasms, but there wasn’t a whole lot of time they spent getting to know each other personally in the span of their… _friendship_.

“Lie to me some more,” Kate said, pursing her lips together.

“Okay, so… he wanted to like… I don’t know. He was trying to pursue me, but I-I turned him down. I-I haven’t seen him in a while,” Elle told her, her words stammering out of her mouth, because again, she was only speaking half-truths.

“That’s perfect!” Kate snapped her finger, having a _‘eureka!’_ moment.

“What?” Elle asked, looking at her almost horrified.

“You date him!” She said wide-eyed.

“What?” Elle asked again, feeling her mouth go dry.

“You date him and you get the story. I mean, you don’t _really_ have to date him. Just pretend,” she said, smiling from ear-to-ear.

“No!” Elle scoffed.

“Elle, do you see this shit?” She asked, tossing the pictures of Liam and Miley at her once again.

“I’m not doing it.” Elle shook her head defiantly.

“You will do it. You’re the reporter who blurted out what everyone wanted to know. _Is Harry Styles gay?_ And he responded to you. He responded to you in more ways than one, honey. The lustful look in that boy’s eyes when you were talking. _Mm-hmm_. You will do this,” Kate told her.

“He is a human being. I am not doing it,” Elle retorted, crossing her arms firmly over her chest.

“Just… just get in his good graces… get some dirt and get out. I hear he’s a bad boy now. Get me some of that kind of stuff. Bad boy stuff,” she offered.

“Absolutely not. That is such an invasion of privacy. No way.” Elle shook her head.

“What do you care about this guy anyway?” She asked.

“I-I don’t care about him. I just… it’s just… I’m not going to do this. He has the right to privacy, you know,” Elle told her.

“Says the _paparazzi_.” Kate pursed her lips at her again.

“I’ll figure something out, okay. I’ll be out tonight. I’ll get us something. And it’s not going to be _using_ Harry Styles,” Elle told her.

“You better or we’re going to plan B,” Kate said, cocking her eyebrow at Elle.

“No… we’re not.” Elle shook her head, getting up from her chair, ready to get the hell out of there.

“Bring me gold, _Elizabeth_. Bring me gold,” Kate said in one final warning.

“Kate wants me to seduce Harry Styles and get the dirt on him,” Elle told Charlie as they ate lunch the next day.

“How _is_ it going with your British _lovah?”_ Charlie smirked at her as he shoved a fry in his mouth.

“I don’t know. I haven’t seen him in a couple of days,” Elle said, shrugging impassively, feeling the nerves bubbling up inside of her thinking about the possibility of Harry not wanting to continue things with her.

“Did you tell Kate you’ve already perfected the seduction part?” Charlie chuckled teasingly.

“Obviously I haven’t perfected it since I haven’t seen him in almost five days,” she groaned, taking a sip of her lemonade.

“What’s up with that? Do you think he’s getting some somewhere else?” He asked her.

“Who am I to stop him?” Elle shrugged, feeling like shit about it.

She had no real hold on him. He was free to come and go as he pleased, to see and _fuck_ anyone he pleased. The thought made her nauseous. After all, she was the one to tell him she wanted to keep things under wraps. Maybe he took it as her just asking for something casual – though she wasn’t sure she wanted anything less than casual either. She didn’t know, but it sure ate away at her not being in his presence for so long.

“Kind of a shitty situation, huh?” Charlie asked, sending Elle a frown.

“Yeah. I just… I told him I wanted to keep things private. I just really don’t want to be thrust on the opposite side of the camera. That’s not who I am. I don’t belong there,” Elle told him somberly.

“But you like him?” He asked.

“I’m falling for him… fast,” she confessed with a defeated face, letting the last word fall off her lips like an afterthought.

She didn’t know how she felt about her feelings toward him. For the most part, it made her feel uncomfortable because she had no idea how he felt about her on a day to day basis.

“Just tell him what’s up,” Charlie told her with a lax shrug.

“It’s not that easy. There’s so much gray area,” Elle grumbled.

“Just be honest with him and lay it out in black and white. Guys don’t like mind games. We like straightforward, literal answers. Honesty is your best bet, Elle,” he told her.

“I guess,” she sighed.

“Are we getting out tonight?” He asked, changing the subject before Elle had time to process his advice.

“Yeah, sure,” she nodded sullenly.

“I’ll pick you up around eight?” He said quickly in the form of a question as if he were dismissing her.

“Yeah, sure,” Elle said, watching as he got up from the table, her eyebrows knit together in confusion.

“I’ve gotta run, but I’ll see you soon,” he said, throwing down enough money to pay the whole tab.

“Alright. Bye,” Elle said quietly, still feeling a little shell-shocked by the whole conversation.

He waved her off and disappeared out of the restaurant. After Elle finished, she walked the couple of blocks back home with a lot on her mind.

Elle just laced up her _Converse_ sneakers when she heard her door buzzer sound, startling her to her feet. It confused the hell out of her as to why Charlie felt the need to buzz her door when he always just waited for her in the car. Elle looked at the clock, realizing she still had nearly fifteen minutes until he was actually due to pick her up. Maybe he needed to talk or something.

“Uh, yeah?” Elle spoke into the intercom after crossing the room to her apartment door.

“Elle?” She heard a man’s voice through the crackling speaker.

“Yeah,” she answered, still confused.

“Hey, it’s Harry,” she heard and her stomach immediately exploded with butterflies – annoying, gut-wrenching little butterflies, hundreds and hundreds of them.

“Hey. Uh, let me buzz you up,” she said through a wide smile. 

“’Kay,” he said and she pressed the button long enough for him to open the door.

Harry was there and Elle was freaking out. She dashed to her window quickly, seeing for herself his _Range Rover_ parked out front of her building. There was a small knock at her door and her stomach took a nose-dive. Looking quickly in the mirror, out of habit, she adjusted her hair and checked her makeup for any splotching before she crossed the space to her door.

Harry stood in front of her wearing blue jeans, a white t-shirt, a black leather jacket, and a smile. _Beautiful, beautiful man._ It took all the self-control she had not to grab him by his jacket and rip his clothes right off of that well-tone, well-tanned body of his. Good God, she was purring for him.

“Hi.” Elle smiled widely at him, unable to hold back her excitement.

“Hi. I brought take-out,” he said, giving her a goofy grin, as he held up a large brown paper bag.

“Oh. Awesome,” she told him, feeling dazed by his presence and his romantic gesture.

His smile dropped as soon as his eyes looked down her body.

“You were going out,” he said lowly. All his boyish charm displayed on his face with his disappointment. He was utterly adorable.

“I-I… I mean…” Elle stammered. Didn’t he know she would drop everything for a chance to spend the night with him? Didn’t she make that perfectly clear each and every time she was in his presence?

“You’re wearing your _Converses,_ ” he said, pointing to her feet.

“I mean, I was going to go out with Charlie—” Elle started to explain.

“Charlie?” Harry asked, his eyes flaring slightly. _Jealousy perhaps?_ The prospect of Harry being jealous of any boy Elle spent her time with was remarkable to her, because it gave her hope that he actually did care beyond just getting laid.

“Uh, just a colleague,” she told him, hoping to extinguish any thoughts he might have about her relationship with Charlie. _Just_ a colleague.

“Oh. I mean, I can come back later,” Harry said, pointing back to the door.

“No! No, no. I don’t need to go out,” Elle said grabbing the sleeve of Harry’s jacket, pulling him into the apartment before closing the door. Kate’s voice was nagging in the back of her head about getting some footage she could work with, but surely that could wait another night, right?

“Elle, if you need to work—” Harry started.

“I’d much rather be here… with you,” she told him as she grabbed the bag from his hand and walked it over to her kitchen counter. Harry followed immediately.

“Are you sure?” He eyed her.

“I am entirely sure. In all honesty, I was hoping to run into you tonight.” She smirked at him, feeling the instantaneous blush in her cheeks at her little confession.

“Oh yeah?” He moved closer to her, rubbing his finger across the tiny bare patch of her stomach just above the waistband of her jeans as he looked into her eyes with a wide knee-weakening smile.

“Yeah.” She nodded, swallowing hard with his stare beating down on her.

“I’ve been wanting to see you too,” he told her, leaning in a little closer.

Elle’s breathing hitched seconds before Harry’s lips met hers. He pulled back, keeping that smile on his face and his eyes on her.

“Good to know,” Elle breathed and Harry let out a small laugh as he backed up and started pulling out containers of Thai take-out from the brown paper bag.

Elle smiled to herself as she took out her cell phone and sent Charlie a short text, telling him she would be unavailable to come out tonight – that something came up.

And that _something_ was standing in her kitchen dishing her a plate of mouth-watering Thai food.

“Harry, that was fantastic,” Elle groaned, feeling the fullness of her belly after eating the amazing food he brought over.

“Don’t thank me. Thank the people at _Sunset Thai_.” He smirked at her, leaning forward to set his plate on the coffee table.

“I’ll have to send them a thank you note,” Elle said jokingly as she smiled appreciatively at him.

Their eyes lingered on one another’s and Elle could feel the desire building inside of her for this man, this delicious mouth-watering man. The TV was on, but she couldn’t be bothered with paying attention to it when he was just so much more entertaining to watch. She bit her lip as he bounced his eyebrows quickly at her.

“Come here,” he said, gripping his hand onto her upper thigh.

Elle was so ready. She knew there was no way he was going to need to tell her twice. She scrambled, a little less gracefully than she would have hoped, up onto her knees in front of him. He gripped onto the back of her thigh and coaxed it over his legs so she was sitting astride him.

“Elle,” he breathed, swiping her hair behind her ear as she gripped firmly to the front of his t-shirt.

“You’re so beautiful, Elle,” he murmured as his eyes bore into hers contently.

“Don’t say it unless you really mean it, _Styles_ ,” Elle breathed lowly.

“Oh, I fully mean it, _Acerman_.” Harry smirked at her.

“How do you know my last name?” She asked, taken aback as she pulled back from him slightly.

“You think I don’t know things about the girl I’ve been sharing a bed with?” He cocked an amusing eyebrow at her.

“I suppose,” she breathed lightly.

“Does it bother you?” He asked.

“That you know my last name? Or that you know my last name without me tell you my last name?” She asked.

“Either.” He shrugged.

“No,” she said honestly. This man would have to do something a lot worse and weirder than that to be able to bother her in any way.

“Good.” He smiled.

“Rose,” Elle told him.

“What?” He asked.

“Rose is my middle name. Elizabeth Rose Acerman,” she told him.

“Nice to meet you, Elizabeth Rose Acerman. I’m Harry Edward Styles.” He smirked, gripping firmly onto her ass that was cupped in his hands.

“I know,” she giggled.

“You would know, now wouldn’t you?” He smirked, leaning up to kiss her lips.

“I would,” she giggled against his lips.

“Stalker,” he whispered comically as he kissed her again.

As their mouths moved fluidly with one another’s, Elle could feel his excitement below her and it only made her desire for him thicken. She was certain the pheromones she was giving off because of him could be sensed from a mile away. It was ridiculous how easily he could get her going.

His fingers were trailing up the back of her shirt, sending pleasing tingles throughout her body as they tickled her skin. And it made her want to be naked and to have him naked too. She wanted flesh on flesh. She wanted him inside of her, bringing her to her brink.

Pulling back, Elle’s fingers gripped on the hem of her baby blue tight fitting _Save Ferris_ t-shirt, pulling it straight over her head. Harry tugged her hair binder out of her hair, letting it fall across her bare shoulders as he let out a Soft moan. His eyes and hands connected with her bra-clad breasts almost immediately after, cupping them in his hands, leaning forward to leave a kiss on the tops of each of them, igniting the flesh with his lips.

“Please,” Elle moaned lowly as his fingers gripped onto the silky fabric of her bra, exposing her chest fully.

“So beautiful,” he breathed as he once again leaned forward, capturing one of her nipples in his mouth.

Elle’s fingers dug into his hair as he nipped and sucked and swirled her nipple in his mouth in the most excruciating, tantalizing way possible.

“You’re gonna…” Elle was breathless as the pleasure engulfed her.

“I’m gonna what?” He asked, pausing momentarily from the sweet, agonizing torture his mouth was giving her.

“You’re gonna make me come,” she sighed pleasurably.

“And what is wrong with that?” He smirked cunningly up at her.

“Oh, God,” she moaned as his mouth fell back onto her chest and his hand came up to slowly roll the bud of her other nipple between his fingers.

“Oh my god, Harry,” Elle gasped as she felt her orgasm building and building.

“ _Mmm_ ,” he hummed against the nipple that was buried in his mouth and it sent her over the edge.

Her body swelled and shook right in front of him, because of him, as the waves of her orgasm rocked through her.

“Oh my god,” she sighed, swallowing hard, only tasting dryness.

“I love hearing my name on your tongue when you come,” Harry smirked, his words sending another shot of pleasure through her. She could only smile bashfully at him in response.

Harry’s smile was domineering and Elle could tell he was pleased with himself, being able to make her fall apart with only his mouth and fingertips. She wanted nothing more than to make him come too. And she knew how.

“I’ll be right back. Do me a favor,” she breathed seductively against his lips.

“What?” He smirked against hers.

“Get naked,” she said moments before she pulled herself off his lap.

“ _Unngh,_ ” he groaned playfully as she made her way across the room to her night stand.

She pulled a condom out and put it between her teeth as she kicked off her _Converses_ and started unbuttoning her pants. She looked over at Harry to see him doing the same and it brought a wide smile to her face. She threw off her pants, taking her panties down with them and immediately unhooked her bra and dumped it on the floor on top of her disorderly pile of clothes. She pulled the condom packet from her teeth and made her way back to her lover.

Elle couldn’t help but smirk at Harry as he stood next to her couch wearing only his black boxer briefs. He was staring. He was just standing there gawking at her naked body moving toward him.

“You’re not naked.” Elle smiled evenly at him and his eyes flashed up to hers.

“Forgive me for being a little distracted.” He smirked as she leaned up to kiss him quickly.

“Let me be of some assistance, Mr. Styles,” Elle said confidently, smirking deviously at him.

“Please,” he breathed, his voice husky as her index finger slid across the inside waistband of his boxers.

Elle licked her lips before biting the lower one between her teeth as her hands slowly worked the fabric down the perfect mound of his well-sculpted ass. His eyes were staring into hers and she did everything in her power to keep the confident, seductive look in hers when all she truly wanted to do was to melt into him.

“That’s very sexy, Miss Acerman.” He smirked at her.

“Sit,” she breathed, ignoring his knee-weakening comment.

He smirked, seemingly impressed that she was being so assertive. He did what was asked of him and as soon as Elle finished pulling his boxer briefs from his body, she sunk to her knees in front of him. Harry’s eyes danced with anticipation as she wrapped her hand around his length. Licking her lips once again, she slowly leaned forward and licked at the tip of his penis, careful to gage his reaction. Of course, he didn’t disappoint. His eyes were hooded, swirling with lust and desire, and the sudden intake of breath he needed to take was enough to keep her going.

Elle leaned in further, wrapping her lips around him, using her tongue to moisten his entire length before she began a slow bob on top of him.

“ _Ohh_ ,” he sighed pleasingly as his hand came across to swipe away the hair that fell in front of her face.

After a few rapid successions on him, taking his whole length into her mouth, Elle pulled up, leaving him with a final swirl of her tongue around the head.

“I may start calling you ‘Ace’ after that,” he cooed.

“Oh. Because of my last name?” She smirked.

“And because you’re a fucking _ace_ at that.” He smiled pleasingly at her, his eyes still hooded, looking sexy as hell.

“I could continue.” She smirked, cocking her eyebrow at him.

“No. I want _you_ ,” he protested. And it was the best three words Elle heard out of his mouth yet. He wanted _her_.

“That can be arranged.” She smirked confidently up at him, as she picked up the discarded condom off of the couch cushion.

She ripped the wrapper with her teeth and positioned the condom, rolling it on him.

“Ace,” he breathed through a smile as he gripped onto the tip of the condom and tugged, causing a perfect suction around him.

“Come here,” he said, holding out his arms for her and she clambered up off of the floor back into his lap so she was sitting astride him once again.

“Oh, Elle,” he sighed, moments before their lips met again.

Her name on his lips was the sweetest thing in the world.

“Mmm,” she breathed as she let herself sink down on top of him slowly.

His mouth hung open slightly, his eyes closed as his head rested against the back of the couch. He was so unbearably sexy, and for the moment, he was all hers.

Elle leaned forward, kissing a line up the fine sheathing of stubble on his jaw – a day’s worth, she’d say. He was all man. Just a stunning specimen of a man. Their lips met and she began her movement on top of him. Harry kissed her with just as much hunger as her own and it only egged her on. His hands on her hips helped her along, bouncing her slowly against him.

Elle gripped her hands onto the back of the couch, fisting the fabric between her fingers as she built up her rhythm against him, her breathing becoming heavy, her body sliding slickly against his.

She was nearly there, _again_. She wanted to explode so badly. She needed to.

“Say my name and let yourself go,” Harry breathed against her ear, another request she would gladly see to. As his teeth nibbled against her earlobe, her orgasm was rising, ready to wash her out.

“Go,” he breathed again and she let herself, falling forward against his chest.

“Harry, _oh god_ ,” she moaned loudly for him.

As she came, Harry gripped her hips and began his own delicious rhythm, pressing up into her, making it more intense and explosive. With his heightened pace, it wasn’t long until he too was coming for her.

“Fuck, _Ace_ ,” he groaned, letting himself go.

Elle smiled against his collarbone at the nickname. She’d be his _Ace_ any day. Their breathing fell into place with one another as they regained their senses. When Elle heard a low rumbling in his chest, she pulled up, seeing that he was chuckling, his eyes still hooded.

“What?” She smirked at him.

“You sure know how to show a guy a good time.” He smiled at her.

“And you sure know how to give a good orgasm,” Elle retorted with her own smile back at him.

“Orgasms,” he accentuated the word, his smile stuck on his face.

“Orgasm _ssss_ ,” Elle said, hissing out the ‘s’ at the end, in ode to the _double the pleasure, double the fun_ orgasms he gave her.

“Glad to be of service,” he told her.

“Mmm, you can definitely service me any time,” Elle giggled as she slid down on the couch next to him, her legs left to rest on his lap. She closed her eyes as she rested her head against the back of the couch.

“I’ll be right back,” he said, patting her knee as she felt him push up against her legs, getting off the couch completely.

“Mmm,” she groaned, not wanting to lose the contact they had.

Elle opened one of her eyes just in time to see his perfect ass saunter away toward the bathroom. She was lost in her own head while he was away, visions of white picket fences and little babies with his perfect chocolate eyes and enchanting smile. _Oh_ , what she wouldn’t do.

As she heard the familiar clicking of her camera, she groaned to herself, opening her eyes to see him standing above her having yet another impromptu photo shoot of her naked form.

“Again?” She asked him, slightly bewildered by him.

“Mm-hmm.” He smirked at her, taking a few more.

“Where are the other ones I took of you?” He asked curiously, a smug smile tugging at his lips.

“Saved in a very isolated folder on my computer. Think of it as the Swiss bank account of folders. No one will find it.” She smirked at him. He smiled back amusingly at her.

“I’ll just keep taking more until they are in my possession.” He smirked cunningly at her.

“You’re going to need your own camera for that then,” Elle retorted, almost immediately regretting the words. She didn’t need to feed him ideas.

“That can be arranged,” he said in more of a sultry promise than anything as he continued taking picture after picture.

“Harry,” she whined.

“Elle,” he breathed, his voice still husky and perfect.

“It’s my turn,” she said, deciding to go for the offence rather than be a hindrance in his little game.

“Mmm.” He smirked down at her, giving a look to say ‘no fucking way’.

“No fair,” she breathed almost inaudibly, yet understood why he wouldn’t want that.

“Come here,” he told her, holding out his free hand for her. She scrambled to her knees on the couch as she grabbed his hand.

“Come on,” he said, urging her to her feet. She obliged him without question. And she stood in front of him, his finger still quite snap happy, only this time she could register this as one of his deepest desires. She could see it in his eyes.

“You are so incredible, Elle,” he breathed out in almost a groan, sending tingles all throughout her body.

He leaned in, kissing her lips and she saw the familiar flash light up the room through her eyelids. He was taking pictures of them kissing! _Oh my god_. As the kiss deepened, there were more and more flashes from the camera. This was so erotic and pleasing in so many ways. _He_ was the incredible one.

“Come here,” Harry said, spinning her body easily in his arms so her back was to his front as his lips kissed her shoulder. Elle’s head tipped back against his other shoulder, the side of her face pressed against his as another camera flash erupted through the relative dimness of the room. _Oh god_. Her body was weakening from all of this passion and love and lust.

“Sit,” he said, pulling her down onto the couch with him, on top of his lap, her back to his chest.

The fingers of his free hand sliding smoothly across the skin of her breasts, sending pricks of hot pleasure through each hardened nipple. And there was another flash and another. He was enjoying himself and she knew she wasn’t going to get away with hiding these photos from him. He was going to want every single sensual one of them for his own private collection.

His lips moved up the sensitive skin on her neck, his hands moving lower, down her belly, until he buried it between her legs. And of course, he angled the lens of the camera to capture that moment as well.

“Perfect body, Ace. Just _perfect_ ,” he breathed in her ear and she could only give him a heady grunt in response. She was so turned on.

“Open your legs,” he commanded and she obeyed without question, his perfect fingers could be on any part of her body he wished.

 _Snap, snap_. He continued to shoot away.

His fingers grazed so lightly against her sensitive flesh, she almost couldn’t handle it. Her hips bucked forward involuntarily just so she could feel him. His Soft chuckles on the flesh of her shoulders brought her back from her lust coma to the present.

“Kiss me,” he commanded and Elle craned her neck to meet his lips with hers.

 _Snap, snap, snap_.

Catching her completely off guard, he sank his fingers inside of her, causing her to break the kiss only to let her jaw hang open in pleasure and anticipation. He chuckled once again, snapping more pictures of her in her most intimate of moments.

“I can’t wait to see these pictures, Elle. I can’t wait to see your face,” he breathed against her neck, as his fingers moved smoothly in and out of her. Her breathing was heavy and lust-filled and she couldn’t help it one bit. She was fully engulfed in his seductive world.

“ _Ohh_. God, Harry,” she groaned, licking her lips as she tipped her head back against his shoulder.

“You’re so incredible, Ace. So fucking incredible,” he said as he continued snapping pictures of the two of them as he finger-fucked her to oblivion.

Once Harry’s fingers stilled, once he successfully gave her a third orgasm that night, Elle lay sprawled out against his body, the two of them still sitting on the couch, her chest heaving, her throat dry and barren. He finally set her camera down on the table next to the couch and let that hand slide smoothly across her breasts as his other hand stayed cupped against her heat.

“I’d love to give you the world if you’d let me, Elle,” Harry breathed in her ear, his voice as smooth as honey, his words holding such honesty and meaning.

Her heart squeezed tightly in her chest, her brain failing her. She had no response to give him. Tears stung at the edges of her eyes and she turned her head to leave a robust, almost painful kiss against his lips. She wanted the kiss to speak for her. She wanted this man.

How was he single? How the hell was this man still single?

“Come here,” he said, releasing her out of his strong grasp and she turned her body in his arms.

Elle pressed her cheek against his bare chest and he just held her against him. And she felt loved and safe and everything was so intensely perfect, she could have died happy.


	8. Eight

“Oh my god,” Elle gasped, her eyes widening.

“That one is just… _wow_. You’re incredible,” Harry breathed, his eyes wide as well – though, less from shock and more from admiration.

“I can’t believe I let you take these pictures,” she said, holding her hand over her face as it turned ten shades of red.

“I’m so glad you did,” Harry said with a huge pleasing smirk on his face as he continued to click through the pictures on her laptop from his erotic playtime not even an hour before.

“Oh, that one’s cute!” Elle cooed, as a picture of her leaning back against him with him kissing her shoulder blade came onto the screen. What she liked most about it was her naked body wasn’t in frame. It was just the two of them from her collarbones up.

“I like it too.” He smiled at her, but continued through the images.

“Aww!” Elle swooned as one filled the screen of the two of them kissing, her neck craned back to meet her lips with his.

Harry smirked but continued on before chuckling darkly to himself as the pictures of his hand buried deep between her legs came across the screen.

“So sexy.” He smirked over at her.

“Oh my god,” Elle groaned. She still couldn’t believe she let him take pictures like that.

“You are gorgeous and such a perfect subject,” he cooed, smiling at her, leaning over to leave a kiss on her lips.

“You’ve always been my perfect subject,” she said, smiling back at him. He gave her a wide smile in response and kissed her again.

“Stalker,” he snickered under his breath before he looked back at her laptop that was propped up on his lap in front of them. They were still naked and still perfect.

“Uh, not a stalker,” Elle chuckled, shaking her head.

“Stalker,” he laughed again, giving her a knowing look.

“Okay, whatever. I’m a stalker. But it’s my job. Would you rather it be me taking your picture or someone like, let’s say… that jerk Lorenzo?” Elle asked, making an unpleasant face.

“I never said I didn’t like you stalking me,” he told her with a devious smile on his face.

“Well then, good,” she said, smiling pleasingly at him as he went back to reviewing the pictures he just took.

“These are going in my private collection,” Harry said, grabbing his iPhone and the cord lying on her nightstand for her own iPhone.

“No, Harry. Oh my god,” Elle groaned, feeling incredibly embarrassed.

“Oh yes, Elle,” he said, hooking his phone up to her computer with the cord.

“Oh my god,” she groaned, putting her hand over her face as he went about transferring the pictures onto his phone.

“Mmm. Now I’ll have something to look at when I’m in boring meetings or on long trips,” he said, smirking at the screen of his phone where a naked picture of her was displayed across it.

“No. Oh my god. You can’t… what if someone sees them? What if you lose your phone!? Oh my god, Harry,” Elle protested, almost having a panic attack.

“I’ve never lost my phone. And I’m not about to now.” He smirked at her.

“Knock on wood right now,” she laughed, pointing at her nightstand. He laughed out loud, but knocked his knuckle against the top of the nightstand for good measure.

“If my naked ass is plastered all over the internet, I am coming after you,” she chided, pointing her finger at him in an accusatory manner.

“Oh, Ace. It won’t be your _ass_.” He smirked looking at a picture of his hand pressed against her womanhood that took up the whole screen of his iPhone.

“Oh my god,” she groaned.

...

“So, why didn’t you come out last night?” Charlie asked Elle with a smirk on his face.

“Uh, reasons…” She smirked back, trying to keep herself from blushing, to no avail.

“I thought Kate was up your ass about getting something substantial,” he reminded her.

“She is. Just… something came up,” Elle said, smirking slightly as she tried to shrug as nonchalantly as possible.

“And that _something_ wouldn’t happen to be a famous actor that you just so happened to be sleeping with?” Charlie eyed her with a hint of a smirk on his lips.

“Well, I mean…” She stammered, unable to come up with a good lie.

“I knew it!” He laughed, pointing his finger at her.

“He came over with Thai take-out. I just… I hadn’t seen him in days, okay. It just… it just seemed like a better way to spend my night.” Elle shrugged unapologetically.

“I’ll try not to take that offensively,” he chuckled.

“No, Charlie. No. I mean, I love your company…” Elle started to explain.

“I’m kidding, Elle. Calm down. Nothing really was going on last night anyway. Although I did get some sweet candids of Diddy leaving the _Hyde Lounge_ ,” he said with a hint of sarcasm at the end.

At the mentioning of the _Hyde Lounge_ her mind went back to the night Harry found her at said bar, proceeded to feel her up on the jam-packed dance floor and then went home with her in her cab after being bombarded by countless pap pictures taken by Lorenzo. It was the first night she and Harry ever slept together and it was the true beginning of whatever they seemed to have started with one another.

“Yo, Elle,” she heard Charlie say as he snapped his fingers in front of her face.

“Hmm? What?” She asked, focusing on him once again.

“Where did you just go?” He chuckled.

“What are you talking about?” Elle asked, knitting her eyebrows in confusion.

“I mean, you were here, but you were a million miles away.” He smirked at her.

“I uh… I don’t know. I just…” She stammered, not having a real explanation for him.

“You’ve got it bad,” he laughed.

“Shut up,” she snapped, trying hard to keep the smirk off of her face.

“When’s the wedding?” He laughed, thinking he was _so_ funny.

“Fuck off. I wasn’t even thinking about him, okay,” she lied, shoving his shoulder playfully.

“Right. And my name isn’t Charles Wayne Richter the third,” he laughed.

“Oh, it isn’t?” She asked him sarcastically.

“Ha. Ha,” he laughed back just as sarcastically. Elle smirked to herself as she looked down, fidgeting with her camera lens.

“Hey uh, don’t look now, but your boyfriend’s at three o’clock,” Elle heard Charlie say. And of course, her head shot up to her right searching for Harry’s face.

“You’re such a dick,” Elle said, smacking Charlie’s arm when she didn’t see Harry anywhere.

“No, I’m serious. He’s right there,” Charlie said, pointing his finger across her view. She followed his finger to find Harry sitting outside a small café with a big blonde guy she’d never seen him with before.

From what she could see, he hadn’t been spotted by any paparazzi, which was nice for them. She almost felt guilty having her camera in his hands, but then she thought about what Harry used her camera for and it made her insides all warm in the most pleasing way possible.

“So, are you going to go talk to him or are you just going to stand here grinning like a fool?” Charlie asked her. She didn’t realize she was even smiling until he pointed it out.

“I uh… he’s eating,” she said, making up an excuse.

“So,” Charlie said evenly.

“He’s with a friend,” she said, giving him another excuse.

“Like I said… _so_ ,” Charlie edged her on.

“I mean, I don’t want to interrupt him,” Elle said, shrugging her shoulders, feeling her face grow hotter.

“You’re a paparazzi, Elle. It’s what you do,” Charlie pointed out.

Elle kept her eye on Harry, watching as he laughed and carried on an animated conversation with the man he was sitting with. Her cheeks blushed when she remembered her very first conversation with him, even though she knew first hand he wasn’t gay.

_“Do you have any comments on the new rumor that’s been popping up on the internet?”_

_“And what’s that?”_

_“That you started batting for the other team.”_

_“What?”_

_“That you’re gay.”_

Still to this day, she couldn’t believe she actually asked it. But if she didn’t, she and Harry wouldn’t be where they were now.

Without even thinking, she pulled her camera up to her eye and adjusted the lens so Harry was perfectly in frame, in perfect focus before she snapped a few pictures of him from afar.

“ _Really_ , Elle?” She heard Charlie’s sarcastic voice.

“What?” She asked, turning back to him with a slight flush in her cheeks.

“Go talk to him,” Charlie nudged.

Elle scoffed with as much annoyance as she could at him, but looked both ways down the street anyway and found herself walking toward Harry. Her heart beat wildly in her chest as she closed in on the two men casually chatting with each other as they sat at a small café table together.

“Can I get a smile, Harry?” Elle said in her best schmoozy paparazzi voice.

She could only be seen by his friend, who looked up at her immediately, his eyes widened slightly as he stared at her. Harry turned back to see her, one of his eyebrows heightened with a look of intrigue on his face.

“Anything for you, beautiful.” He smiled and Elle snapped a quick picture.

“Well, if I knew it was that easy…” She giggled lightly, scolding herself for sounding so enthralled by him.

Harry stood up immediately, holding his arms out for a quick hug. She obliged – _he smelled amazing_. But she found herself quickly looking around for any nearby paps, who could just so happen to get unwanted candids of the two of them together.

“Would you like to join us? I mean, we’re almost done, but we could pull up a seat for you,” Harry offered. Elle looked around again nervously and Harry caught on.

“I haven’t seen any around,” he told her lowly.

“We’re sneaky, you know,” she said, eyeing him.

“And I’ve been around long enough to know where to look,” Harry countered almost immediately.

“I just…” Elle stammered, looking down at her feet.

“I’ve gotta get going anyway.” Harry’s friend stood up.

“You sure, man?” Harry looked over to him and asked.

“Yeah, man. I’ve gotta get home,” he said, throwing down some money from his wallet to pay for his food.

“Hey, look. Elle, this is my friend Henry. Henry, this is my friend Elle,” Harry said, sending her a small smirk as he introduced them.

Elle wasn’t sure what to make of the way Harry introduced them. On one hand, technically she was just a friend. They had no titles or affiliations to one another. But on the other hand, what they were doing with each other and what they did with each other was more than just friendly. He had nudes of her on the iPhone that sat perfectly perched in the front pocket of his _oh so_ tight jeans, for crying out loud.

“It’s nice to meet you,” Henry said, smiling genuinely at her as he shook her hand.

“You as well,” she said, nodding politely.

Elle watched as Harry and Henry did sort of a bro-handshake slash half hug, signifying their goodbyes before Henry went on his way, leaving Elle and Harry standing together on the sidewalk outside of the small café.

“So, do you wanna hang out… in the daylight for once?” Harry smirked at her as he waved his hand through the air to signify the sun’s placement in the sky. Elle smirked, realizing they had yet to really hang out like this before. But there was a reason for that.

“I don’t know,” she said, eyeing him with her eyebrows heightened in question.

“You don’t know? Come on, what’s the worst that could happen?” He asked, giving her one of his mega-watt, knee-weakening, killer smiles.

“Well, we could be photographed together, thus silently confirming with solid proof, might I add, that the two of us have a thing going on, thus throwing us both into a huge scandal where we will be hounded by the paparazzi non-stop all because we can’t seem to stay away from each other,” Elle explained, being a little more dramatic than necessary. Harry laughed out loud from her response.

“All of that, huh?” He smirked at her.

“Yes.” She nodded, smiling back at him.

“Well, I mean, huge scandal or not, I just can’t seem to find a reason to stay away from a pretty girl like you,” he said and beamed another breathtaking smile at her. Elle’s cheeks immediately flushed and her smile could not be helped.

“Come on. I’ll take you back to my place this time. There’s someone I’d like you to meet,” he said, pulling out money from his wallet to pay for his half of the café bill

“You don’t like, live with your mom do you?” Elle smirked.

“No. I don’t live with my mom,” he chuckled as he started walking down the sidewalk. Elle smirked as she fell into step with him.

Harry didn’t live far from the café, but Elle kept a constant eye out for any flash photography. She didn’t want or need anyone to catch on to the fact that she and Harry were intimate with one another. Well, more than Lorenzo already posted. There didn’t need to be anymore confirming proof.

Harry led her into a large building with a sterile, modern feel to it. The lobby had a smattering of furniture with sort of a waiting area type look to it. But they bypassed it and headed straight to the elevator. Once they were standing in the small space and the doors closed, locking them in there together, Harry turned and smirked at her.

“What?” Elle smiled at him.

“Can I kiss you now?” He asked, cocking one of his eyebrows.

Elle giggled and blushed, looking down at the floor. His hand came up to capture the side of her face, forcing her to look back at him.

“Can I kiss you now?” He asked again, his voice sounding more sultry and seductive than before.

“Yes,” she said in almost a whisper as her face fell completely serious.

Harry leaned in and placed a perfect peck on her lips before he pulled away as the elevator came to a halt on the sixth floor, dinging before the doors opened for them. He smiled and grabbed her hand, leading her out of the elevator and she couldn’t even beginning to help the wide smile that formed on her lips because of him.

“Here we are. Home sweet home,” he said, pulling out a small grouping of keys from his pocket to unlock the door.

“Home sweet home,” she repeated quietly after him as he pushed open the heavy black door.

To Elle’s surprise, Harry rented a small studio apartment, just like she did. Yet, his was on the higher end of the spectrum than hers was. His had a beautiful industrial feel to it with large floor to ceiling windows taking up most of the walls in the living room. He had a large spacious kitchen. And there was actually room to stretch in the space where his bed lay. In her apartment, if you turned any which direction, you were literally standing in another “room” in the apartment.

“Here. This is who I want you to meet,” Harry said, moving toward the small walk-in closet to their left.

Elle heard the clinking of a kennel door and the rustling of a dog’s collar and immediately found herself smiling. A stout brown and white English bulldog came barreling out of the small room directly at her.

“Oh, baby,” Elle said, placing her camera down on his kitchen island counter before bending down to greet the hyper pup.

“This is Hemingway, my dog,” Harry said proudly.

“Hi, Hemingway. Oh, baby. You are so cute. Yes, you are,” Elle cooed, immediately starting to talk to the dog in baby-talk as she ruffled the fur on top of his head.

“He likes you,” Harry said, smiling down at them.

“Well, I like him. Yes, I do, you adorable thing,” Elle chuckled as Hemingway jumped up trying to kiss her face.

“Hemingway, no! Get down,” Harry scolded him, grabbing onto his collar.

“It’s okay. Huh, Hemmy. You’re just excited,” Elle said, still talking to the dog. Harry laughed a short laugh, looking astonished but amused at her.

“What?” She smiled up at him.

“Oh, nothing. It’s just that I call him ‘Hemmy’ sometimes too,” Harry beamed at her.

“Oh. Ha. Yeah. I like to give nicknames sometimes.” Elle smiled, blushing slightly as she stood up.

“I’m gonna take him out quickly. Make yourself at home. There’s beer or whatever in the fridge,” Harry said, clipping a leash onto Hemingway’s collar as they made their way to the front door.

As the door closed with their exit, Elle couldn’t help but think of how trusting Harry was to leave a known paparazzi in his apartment – even though he was right to trust her. She would never ever betray his trust like her agent seemed to want her to do. Harry meant way more to her than a silly paycheck she could get elsewhere.

Elle’s eyes scanned over his eccentric decorations and knick-knacks that adorned the top of his upright black piano. She could tell just by looking at his possessions that he was a fun person – he had a full wall in his living room dedicated to superheroes. She found herself wanting to get to know him even better than she already did. She wanted to know everything there was to know about him for her own personal pleasure, rather than sharing it with the world like any other pap would do. She wanted to know Harry on a level that most people didn’t. And she realized she did know him so much better than almost everyone on the planet. She shared her bed with this man on many occasions. She saw him naked time and time again. The intimacy level they were on with one another was a level that most girls could only dream about. The thought of that made her smile smugly to herself as her eyes skimmed over the hanging display of vinyl records he had on another one of his wall.

The apartment door opened back up moments later as Hemingway ran back in with Harry following shortly behind.

“Hey.” Harry smiled at her.

“Hi.” She smiled back at him, but let her eyes fall back to the well decorated wall.

“You have an interesting collection of memorabilia here,” Elle said, smirking at him.

“I have random taste in things.” He shrugged, giving her an _I-don’t-give-a-fuck_ smirk.

“Like your random taste in women?” She cocked her eyebrow at him.

“I know an attractive female when I see one,” he said, moving closer so they were almost touching.

His hands reached out, gripping onto her hips, pulling her flush against his body. There was only a second or two of hesitation before he pressed his lips hard against hers. Her arms instinctively snaked around his neck, as the kiss deepened, their tongues dancing with one another’s.

“Mmm,” he moaned against her mouth and it made all the desire she was feeling for him pool between her legs. She wanted him to take her right then and there. On the kitchen counter, on the couch, his bed – hell, she’d even let him fuck her against his piano. She just needed him to do it.

But he must have been on a different page as her because as soon as she was ready to rip both of their clothes off and make the first move, he pulled back, breaking the kiss. She looked up into his eyes, her mouth gapping, unable to hide her disappointment from his sudden abandonment.

“I didn’t bring you here for this,” he said quietly, looking almost guilty.

“Oh,” she said just as quietly, which caused him to perk up slightly. Her lips turned up into a bashful smile and he gave her a wry smile in response.

“Does it make me a bad person that the thought of not having you right now kind of makes me feel like I am going to explode?” She asked him, feeling her cheeks flush hot at her personal admission. He laughed out loud as his smile grew even wider.

“We wouldn’t want that to happen, now would we?” He said, his voice sounding husky and _so_ hot.

“No, we wouldn’t,” she said, shaking her head slightly. He groaned, wrapping his hand around the back of her neck as his lips slammed into hers once again.

His other hand wrapped around her waist as he began walking her back toward his bed. Her hands immediately began pushing up his shirt with the heels of her palms as she tried hard to concentrate on the rapid movement of their tongues and lips. Only a half an hour earlier, she was standing on a street corner with Charlie debating with him on where they should go to scout out celebrities. Now she was in the grips of Harry Styles’ arms, completely enthralled by his bedroom bewitchment, ready to be taken by him right on his bed in his upscale apartment.

Harry dropped his hands down gripping onto the hem of Elle’s tank top before he ripped it up over her head and threw it to the ground, barely taking his lips off of hers in the process. Without missing a beat, she snaked her hands back and unhooked her bra, letting it fall forward against them. When he stepped back, her bra fell off of her arms and to the floor in the same moment he pulled his own shirt off his body.

His hands came out and gripped her hips once again, pulling her against him and this time she could feel the hardness that was pressing against her and knew he was more than ready for what was about to go down. It only fueled her fire. And when he dropped her back against the mattress, she needed no time to recover before she was pushing her jeans down her hips.

Harry smirked down at her as he quickly undid his own pants and pushed them to the floor, kicking out of his shoes in the same process. As he walked around to his nightstand to grab a condom, Elle took the opportunity to relieve herself from the rest of her clothing. Moments later, he was back in front of her suiting himself up, looking down at her with lust-filled hooded eyes. God, he was so sexy. Elle almost couldn’t handle the feelings that were coursing through her.

She watched as he licked his lips and stepped forward toward her. Gripping onto her hips again, he pulled her toward him so her ass was right at the edge of his mattress.

“I have never gotten as turned on in all of my life as I did from what you just said to me,” Harry said, smirking down at him.

A low giggled worked its way through her as she looked up at him, practically salivating at the thought of him being turned on by something she said.

“You are something else, Ace,” he said, licking his lips again. Her cheeks blushed from the nickname as she giggled bashfully.

Harry pressed his body against hers, leaning down to kiss her lips. His hardness pressed against her in the most agonizing, hottest way possible and she thought she might pass out from all the hormones and desire that were running amok through her body.

“Everything about you is just so… _mmm_ ,” Harry said, pulling himself back up as he ran his hands slowly down her naked body.

“Remember how I said I was going to explode?” Elle asked him.

“Mm-hmm.” He smiled up at her.

“My fuse is almost up,” she told him, hurrying him along. His smile grew wider as he licked his lips again.

“Music to my ears,” he breathed, gripping onto himself as he pressed forward.

Just the slightest touch against her and Elle thought she might pass out. You’d swear she was an under-sexed eighteen year old boy who hadn’t been touched by a woman before. That’s how she was acting anyway. She was wrecked over this man and he knew it. He pressed the tip of his penis in just slightly, smirking down at her. Her breathing shuddered from the contact and his smile grew wider. When he retracted out of her in a playful motion, Elle let out an involuntary groan, her eyes snapping open to find his. He chuckled lightly and pressed in, but only the tip again. And seconds later retracted it. He did this a couple more times, really toying with her hormones and emotions and just _everything._ She was a ticking time-bomb.

“Harry Edward Styles!” Elle snapped, which caused him to laugh out loud.

“I fucking hate you,” she said, glaring playfully up at him.

“Except you don’t.” He smirked and slammed fully into her in one quick motion.

Elle’s head tipped back into the mattress as she let out a deep satisfying moan. He pulled back out, almost completely before slamming into her again.

 _“Ohh!”_ Elle groaned involuntarily.

When she looked back up at him, he had a smug smirk on his face as he began a pleasing rhythm in and out of her. That fucker knew what he was doing to her. He knew she needed it – that she was practically begging for it. She bit her lip to stifle the smirk that wanted to break through. He did a fantastic job of giving her exactly what she wanted, but on his own terms. _Well played, Mr. Styles_.

It wasn’t long before she was moaning loudly through a very pleasing orgasm. Harry knew her body well enough now to get her there quickly and he did a fantastic job, leaving her clawing at the sheets by the time her orgasm rippled through her to its end. Harry wasn’t far behind, giving two or three last deep thrusts before spilling himself into her with a low groan.

After pulling out, he collapsed half on top of her and half on top of the bed as their ragged breathing filled the stillness of the room. Elle snaked her arm around his waist and cuddled up to his side, wrapping her leg around his like a vine. No matter how close she was to him, she always wanted to be closer. She couldn’t help herself around him. He was perfect and he was perfect for her.

“Mmm. You are an ace, Ace.” He smirked over at her, his expression full of exhaustion.

“That was all you, I promise,” Elle cooed as she nuzzled her nose against his upper arm.

“I’m starting to realize I can’t live without this – without you,” he said as he turned his body toward hers, pulling her fully into his arms.

Elle’s whole stomach clenched up with his words. He said them so nonchalantly and didn’t seem fazed by the severity of what they meant. _He couldn’t live without her?_ She didn’t realize the depths of his feelings. Hell, she didn’t even contemplate him having feelings for her at all, let alone those kinds of feelings. Everything exploded within her and she was left with a giddy feeling wanting to shoot out of her like fireworks.

In that moment, Elle knew she had completely fallen for him. She was in love with him and it could no longer be helped.


	9. Nine

Elle sat in her apartment editing some L.A. skyline pictures she took while she was out that night – yeah, instead of getting any good pictures of any good celebs like her agent wanted her to, she was off capturing a skyline that was photographed billions of times before. _Whatever_. 

Elle couldn’t be held accountable for the celebrity population all of a sudden being upstanding, law-abiding, chaste citizens. But then again, she probably _would_ be held accountable for it the next time she was sitting in Kate’s office getting reamed out for the shit photography she was bringing her.

Ex-ing out of the Photoshop tab, Elle sighed to herself. Kate was going to kill her. No, she was going to drop her as her client and then kill her. She had nothing for her. She was _not_ bringing home the bacon for either of them. With a sigh, her eyes focused on her computer’s wallpaper image. It was one of _those_ pictures – one of the ones from the other night, one of Harry’s _special_ pictures. Elle cropped it slightly so less of her skin was invading the screen. Her neck was craned to the side and Harry was kissing her lips. Both their eyes were closed and just the way his long eyelashes perfectly fell against the tops of his cheeks made him look so… angelic. He was intensely beautiful.

Elle licked her lips and took a deep breath as she started snaking her way through the folders on her computer, going straight for her _Swiss bank account_ of folders where the pictures were hidden. As the icons of the pictures flooded the screen, her cheeks flushed immediately. They were just so… _intimate_. She’d never been _that_ intimate with anyone… ever… in her life. But with Harry it just came so easily.

As she clicked through the pictures, looking at them one by one, she could feel herself getting turned on by the thought of his hands and lips and _everything else_ on her. _Good God almighty_. She quickly clicked out of the folder and looked around, the blush still on her cheeks. She was all alone, this she knew. But still, she felt like a voyeur or something with pictures like that. And there was only one person on earth she wanted to be a voyeur with.

She smirked as she licked her lips, opening up the camera on her cell phone. She shuffled the straps of her bra and tank top down her shoulders and took a picture from her naked collarbones up to entice Harry into stopping by. She quickly messaged the photo to him and received a response almost immediately.

 **Harry:** _Hot damn!_

 **Elle:** _I’m all alone at home. :(_

 **Harry:** _Is that an invitation? :)_

 **Elle:** _Hopefully the best damn invitation you’ve ever gotten._

 **Harry:** _Oh, most definitely. Give me a half hour._

 **Elle:** _Done._

 **Harry:** _You are amazing. :)_

Awesome? Did that put her in the friend-zone? Friends with benefits? She was awesome? Cool… dude.

She didn’t text back and decided not to dwell on what the compliment meant. Harry would be there in a half an hour and she needed to freshen up.

She closed out of her text messages and pulled herself up quickly from her seat, nearly skipping to the bathroom. She stood in front of her bathroom mirror trying her hardest to do a million things at once. She had her toothbrush stuck out of her mouth, the toothpaste foaming around her lips. She quickly brushed her mascara wand through her eyelashes after applying a little more eye shadow and liner. She ran my fingers through her hair quickly before teasing it slightly to give it that just-volumized look. She shoved her hands in the front of her bra, perking up her breasts so they didn’t just look like flat life-less blobs. And after she finally finished brushing her teeth, she gargled some mouthwash and spritzed some of her vanilla body mist all over herself. It would make him think twice about friend-zoning her.

As she came out of her bathroom, she heard the knock on her door. _Shit._ He was early.

“Just a second!” Elle called out as she bent down quickly and gathered up the dirty clothes she hadn’t bothered to pick up off the floor from the other night.

She gave the blankets on her bed a good ruffle before, finally she felt satisfied with herself and the upkeep of her apartment. It wasn’t like he hadn’t seen either before in far more _revealing_ situations. Elle pulled the door open with a smile. She didn’t want to seem too eager, but fuck it. Who was she kidding? She wanted this man like an addict wanted a fix.

Harry’s smile was more of a smug smirk and his eyes were smoldering as they raked up and down her body. Just a look from him wet her from the inside out.

“You have on more clothing than I thought you would,” he said, smirking playfully at her.

“An easy fix, I promise you,” she said as he stepped inside and the door closed behind him.

Harry stepped closer to her and she could feel him even though they weren’t touching. She could feel all the chemistry and the hunger and the need. His eyes bore closely into hers as his tongue jut out, wetting his lips quickly.

“ _This_ , Elle. This isn’t just about sex for me. But right now, I can’t think of anything else,” he breathed seductively.

The fact that he wasn’t touching her was literally agonizing. She could have fallen at his feet with desire. She was literally waiting on bated breath for him to say anything, _do_ anything.

Just as her eyes locked with his peeping tongue once again, wetting its way along his lips, Harry reached out his left hand, sliding his fingers in the straps of her bra and tank top, moving them down her shoulder like she did for the picture she sent him. Her breathing hitched as her skin tingled from his touch. His lips turned up into a satisfied smirk as his free hand snaked around behind her, pulling her toward him. She was hooked. She was engulfed. She was captivated.

When his heated lips came down, kissing a line up her exposed clavicle, a whimper fell from her lips.

“I don’t think you realize how wrapped up in you I am, Elle,” he breathed against her skin, his lips tickling right below her ear.

“Harry,” she whimpered as she felt his fingers tightening their grip on the small of her back. Their pelvises were pressed so closely together.

Elle had no idea what to do with her hands, so they rested loosely at his hips. They were still standing in what could be considered the foyer of her small studio apartment. How did he have such a hold over her? It was like she was in a trance – a very hypnotic, sexual trance she never wanted to be pulled out of. He seemed to have this effect on her quite often.

“Do you know what you do to me, Elle?” Harry asked, catching her completely off guard.

“N-no…” She stammered, tightening her own fingertips against his skin.

“I can’t stop thinking about you. Do you know what it’s like to have someone’s beautiful distracting face in your head all day long?” He asked, his voice low and _oh so_ seductive as he ran his lips over her jaw line. The feeling of his light stubble against her skin was almost like a sensory overload.

“Yes,” she told him firmly.

“You feel my pain?” He breathed against her lips.

“Every day,” she told him truthfully.

“Mmm, what a lucky person,” he said, leaning in, kissing her lips lightly.

“Do you feel lucky?” She asked him, trying her hardest to keep her voice from quivering.

“Depends. Are you thinking of me?” He smirked, pulling back only slightly to look into her eyes.

“Only you,” she told him truthfully.

He took in a ragged breath before letting out an almost guttural moan as his arms fully engulfed her and his lips pressed hard against hers. This was it. And by _this_ and _it_ , she meant _him_ and _forever_. She wanted him for-fucking-ever.

Harry’s kisses were fast and hot and he gripped her so tightly against his body that she never wanted to leave his strong arms. But as he walked her backwards toward the bed, she knew the only compromise she would make to staying in his arms forever was him tossing her down on the bed and making love to her all night long – fast or slow, she didn’t care.

The back of her knees found the mattress and she was slowly sinking down against it, Harry following, never taking his lips off of her as he slowly crawled up her body. And with one swift momentous motion, he gripped onto her body below him and tossed her to the center of the mattress – only then disconnecting their lips.

His eyes found hers and she caught the slightest quirk of his eyebrow as he once again licked his perfect pink lips. One more time and Elle was sure to lean up and bite his bottom lip. It was so sexy and so frustrating at the same time.

“Elle,” he breathed as his eyes dropped down and his hand came up to her collarbone and slowly slid down the length of her chest and torso as if he was worshiping her.

“You know I would never deny you, don’t you? That’s why you sent me that picture?” Harry smirked up at her. Elle bit at her bottom lip, knowing she knew he _would_ come after receiving something like that from her.

“Don’t you?” He asked more firmly, his eyes looking into her for an answer.

“I wanted you to come,” she whispered.

“Believe me, I want to _come_.” He smirked, licking his lips again. Elle giggled, ignoring his wet lips and what she wanted to do to them.

“And I want to make you come,” he added with a smug smile.

“I want you to make me come,” she said, letting the smile fade quickly from her face into a serious look.

He smirked again, more bashfully this time as he dropped his head between his arms so she couldn’t see his face.

“It would be my pleasure, Ace,” he said, looking up at her again with an adoring smile.

“I beg to differ,” she countered quietly, knowing full well it would most definitely be _her_ pleasure. He licked his lips and shook his head at her, causing her to let out an aggravated moan.

“You make me want to bite your lip,” she blurted finally, feeling all kinds of sexually frustrated. He cocked his eyebrow in question as he pursed his lips together.

“You lick your lips and… and just… _ungh_. I can’t even handle you. Your tongue and your lips and—” Elle groaned, getting completely cut off by his forceful kiss.

His tongue wove with hers as his hips rocked against her. _Fuck_. When Harry broke the kiss, he stole her thunder as he tugged at her bottom lip with his teeth.

“Like that?” He smirked at her.

“Just like that.” She nodded at him and he laughed out loud – his perfect fucking laugh.

“Please…” She whimpered, bucking her hips up at him, thoroughly ready for him to start with all this pleasure he’d been talking about.

“What do you want me to do?” He asked her with that confident smirk.

“Surprise me,” she nearly growled at him as the frustration built, her insides nearly deteriorating as she waited for him.

Harry’s smile only got wider as he twisted his wrist and snaked his hand down the front of her running shorts, his fingers dipping into the front of her panties and then _one, two_ fingers plunged inside of her.

“So ready already,” he breathed against her mouth, a satisfying smile tugging up his lips.

“Harry,” Elle whimpered, her fingers digging into the flesh of his hips.

“Patience… is a… virtue,” Harry said, leaving a kiss on her lips through every pause.

All Elle wanted him to fucking do was take her virtue! Just _fuck_ – this teasing was driving her insane.

“Harry,” she whimpered as he rocked his hardness against her again.

“Elle,” he breathed, kissing her lips softly.

“Fuck me,” she groaned, knowing it was what this was all about – he wanted to hear her say it.

“What was that?” He smirked at her.

“Just fuck me. _Gahhh_. Just—” Elle snapped as she let out another moan with the buck of his hips.

“Gladly, Ace. Gladly,” he said as his fingers gripped at the elastic waistband of her shorts and slowly tugged them down, inch by inch.

“Harry!” Elle snapped and he chuckled amusingly at her.

He pulled them quickly down the rest of the way, taking her panties with them and she swiftly sat up, just enough to rip her tank top over her head and unhook her bra, tossing them both aside. Harry watched on, licking those god damn lips, but she was too _in need_ to care.

Elle’s fingers found the hem of his shirt and pulled it up over his head and he let her. He was kneeling between her legs, perfectly content with her undressing him. Her fingers didn’t even pause before they were expertly unbuckling this belt and unzipping his jeans as quickly as she could.

“Get naked,” she told him firmly, the words becoming her mantra. Moments later, she dipped over the side of the mattress to retrieve a condom from her nightstand drawer.

“I see your camera,” he said playfully and her eyes focused on the expensive tool perched on the top of her nightstand. A smile ravaged her face along with the blush that crept up her cheeks at the thought of Harry during his _playtime_.

“Haven’t you had enough fun with that?” Elle smirked at him as she sat back in front of him, ripping open the condom. She was thoroughly satisfied to see he was fully undressed and was awaiting her patiently.

“Not nearly enough,” he said seductively.

“When is it my turn?” She asked him as she rolled the condom down his shaft.

“I think you’ve had your fair share,” he countered and pursed his lips at her, referring to all her paparazzi moments in the past.

“Not the same.” She shook her head, concentrating on really getting the condom on correctly.

“You’ll have to catch me in the moment,” he challenged and she paused her work to look up at him, cocking her own eyebrow at him.

“You’re on,” she spoke firmly, in her own challenging tone as he smirked and pounced on top of her, causing her to break out in a fit of giggles.

“Fuck, Elle,” he breathed, rocking against her again as his lips moved against hers.

“Please, Harry,” she pleaded, wanting him so badly.

“You ask so nicely, Ace.” He smiled down at her, pausing for a moment before he pulled back and pressed himself inside swiftly, burying himself completely.

 _Oh, sweet fruition_.

As Elle lay in Harry’s arms afterward, she couldn’t help but hope and pray that everything stayed this perfect with him – that they were this compatible with one another for longer than what people called _“the honeymoon phase”_. Because technically, she and Harry weren’t even together. Technically, she was just a fuck buddy – his friend with benefits. Technically, she had no hold over him, no claim. Technically, he wasn’t hers and vice versa.

And quite _literally_ , the thought of losing him made her heart feel like it was imploding inside her chest.


	10. Ten

“Can I stay with you in this bed all day long?” Harry sighed, his sleepiness still making his voice all croaky.

“I wish you could,” Elle sighed, letting him pull her into his arms.

“Why can’t I?” He asked, pulling back to look in her eyes.

“I don’t know. You’re a busy dude.” She shrugged. It was always him that had somewhere to be. It was always him running off to the studio or to a meeting or to hang out with another friend.

“I’m wide open,” he told her with a smile, kissing her lips quickly.

“You have nothing going on today?” She asked him, shock apparent in her voice.

“Nada.” He smiled.

 _“Wow,”_ she said, exaggerating the word and he laughed out loud.

“I know, I know,” he chuckled.

“You are like, the busiest guy on the planet. Do you really not have any plans today?” Elle asked, her stomach tying in knots with excitement. Harry smirked and rolled his body on top of hers.

“My only plans are to kiss every inch of your body,” he said, starting with her lips. Elle moaned into his kisses as his hand trailed up her sensitive side.

Spending the day in bed with Harry certainly had its advantages.

...

“I’m gonna have to start leaving a toothbrush here.” Harry smirked at her as they both stood in front of her bathroom mirror all wet from their shower, wrapped only in towels – Harry’s towel hanging teasingly low on his hips.

Her excitement because of his words was overwhelming. He wanted to leave a toothbrush at her apartment. Toothbrush at the apartment didn’t necessarily mean commitment, but it was definitely something.

“So, whaddya wanna do today?” Harry asked, wrapping his arms around her from behind, his left hand going inside the open side of her towel.

“You mean, now that we finally got out of bed?” She snickered, thinking of how they spent all morning and a majority of the afternoon playing around between the sheets.

“I wish I could take you out,” Harry said with a sigh as he pulled away from her.

“And for that, I wish you weren’t famous,” she said, looking at him through the mirror as she put her toothbrush in her mouth to brush her teeth. He gave her a frown as he grabbed up her bottle of mouthwash and took a swig.

“We can find things to do here,” she said through her mouthful.

“Mm-hmm,” he hummed before he gargled.

After a little swooshing, Harry spit out the mouthwash and eyed her through the mirror.

“What?” She mumbled through her mouthful.

“Would it be so bad though?” He asked.

“What?” Elle asked again.

“Being seen with me,” he replied. Her eyes widened with his words and she quickly spit out the toothpaste into the sink, wiping her mouth.

“Harry,” she breathed, turning to look at him.

“I know, I know. We’ve talked about this, but it’s just like, I don’t know. I like being here with you and I like having you at my place. But I feel like we’re just cooped up. And sometimes I just really want to take you out,” he told her with a shrug.

He was the sweetest fucking thing. Elle could have fallen at his feet. He was amazing. But that was a place she was not ready to go yet. She was not ready to be _that_ girl.

“You’re absolutely adorable, you know that,” Elle said, smirking at him, sticking her toothbrush in her mouth again.

“But your standpoint doesn’t change?” He asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I just… Harry…” She sighed, looking at him through the mirror again.

“I just feel like maybe we’re getting stifled.” He shrugged.

“Stifled? What do you mean?” She asked, turning to him once again.

“Like, I don’t know. We’re so compatible here… in bed. Like, I just feel like we haven’t gotten the opportunity to explore each other outside of that,” he explained, looking into her eyes with his wide perfect green orbs.

“And we need to do that in public?” She questioned.

“Well, no. But I just think we’re not making the most out of this,” he said, scrunching his mouth up.

“The most out of what?” She asked, wanting him to say it – to admit out loud that he wanted more with her, more than just sex.

“The most out of this, out of us,” he told her.

“Us?” She asked.

“Yeah, us. You and me. Us. Here and now,” he elaborated.

“I think that the ‘us’ you’re referring to is finding no difficulty in getting to know each other outside of the bed, Harry. I think you’re worrying for nothing,” Elle told him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders.

He sighed, seemingly disappointed with her answer.

“If it makes you feel any better, we can completely stay away from the bed – from sex. I mean, if you want to get to know each other better in other ways.” She smirked at him.

“Well, now. I didn’t say that.” He smirked back at her, looking into her eyes.

“That’s what I thought,” she snickered, leaving a kiss on his lips.

He was adorable. And a part of her couldn’t help but think, _“he’s all mine”._

...

Elle really needed to get her shit together. Kate was going to have her head if she didn’t get something she could work with. What kind of paparazzi was she if she never went out, if she never got the money shot?

She told herself that even if Harry came to her doorstep and dropped down on one knee proposing marriage to her, she was still going to go out and find some gossip. Luckily for her, she knew Harry was out with some friends and wouldn’t be popping by at any point. So she dressed and made her way out to where she knew a shit load of celebrities would be – an _L.A. Lakers_ game.

Everyone was there from David Beckham to Leonardo DiCaprio to the Kardashian’s. But Elle’s eyes fixated on the one little bastard who brought her gold before – Justin Bieber. He sat front row with his little singer girlfriend, Selena Gomez.

Elle sat waiting in the stands, watching the game, even though she hated basketball and organized sports altogether. Just before the game got out, she made her way over to the side that Bieber was on and followed him out, hoping for something good.

But unfortunately for her, once they broke through the doors leading outside of the venue, there were already a slew of cameramen and fans bombarding them with pictures. Elle was pushed back into the middle of the group as a group of fanatics jumped at him to get pictures. That’s when his security team and the security at the venue jumped in and pushed everyone back once again probably more violently then they should have. Elle fell back into the person behind her. And the guy having absolutely no decency at all, let her fall to the ground, not even bothering to catch her or help her up. Her camera scattered from her arms and landed on the ground amongst the chaos.

The panic set in immediately. _Her camera!_ That thing was her life and she’d be out a shitload of money if she couldn’t find it. After a few moments of searching on her hands and knees in the crowd, when she thought she’d never find it, a hand came through holding up the camera to her. She was flooded with relief as she grabbed it and pulled herself to her feet.

“Be more careful next time,” a husky, deep voice said, just as she was about to look down at the camera and survey the damage.

Elle looked up to see Lorenzo and her eyes when wide. He was almost sneering at her, and she couldn’t be certain, but she was pretty sure he was the one who handed her the camera. She couldn’t believe it.

“Thanks,” she squeaked out, appreciating his haphazard assistance. He nodded once and then turned, disappearing into the crowd.

Elle felt shell-shocked, unable to comprehend what the hell just happened. She realized she just needed to chalk the whole night up to a loss and go home. That’s all there was to it. Though Kate was going to kill her and she knew it. She got absolutely nothing. She got a few shitty pictures of scattered celebrities watching a basketball game, but no money shot. No dirty deeds captured. _Nothing. Nada. Zilch._ And she nearly lost her camera in the whole mess. Shit wasn’t coming easily for her these days.

...

As Elle went to grab her memory card out of the camera once she got home, she froze looking at the piece of equipment. Her heart leapt into her throat. _This was not her camera_. The Canon logo stared her right in the face. She owned a Nikon.

 _Oh, god_.

Elle couldn’t breathe as the panic built up faster and faster in her chest. _Her camera_. The tears welled in her eyes knowing she didn’t have the money to replace it. But it wasn’t until it all hit her with crippling realization, that she felt sick to her stomach with regret – her camera was filled with _those_ pictures. She didn’t delete them like she meant to.

Her tears streamed down her face as she sat there paralyzed. What the hell was she going to do? What the hell _could_ she do?

...

“Harry,” Elle breathed into her phone after sitting in deafening silence for what felt like forever.

“Elle? Are you okay?” Harry asked immediately, noticing the despondent tone in her voice.

“My camera is gone,” she breathed lowly into the receiver as the anxiety spread like wildfire through her. Harry was never going to forgive her.

“What do you mean your camera is gone?” Harry asked, confused.

“It was taken,” she said, unable to really find the words to explain the situation.

“Elle, what do you mean?” He asked again, his voice growing more and more concerned.

“Can you come over? I need you to come over,” she told him, feeling the anxiety swelling to an unbearable extreme inside of her.

“I uh… yeah. I can come over,” he said, hesitating slightly.

“Okay,” she breathed, knowing that it was going to get very unpleasant when he found out just what was taken along with the camera.

She was in deep shit as far as he was concerned. And he was in deep shit as far as his reputation was concerned.


	11. Eleven

Elle couldn’t stomach it – that was for certain. Every inch of her was tingling with regret. Her mind wouldn’t stop replaying the night over in her head. How did she let this happen? The god damn camera had a strap on it for a reason. She let herself get caught up. It was such a rookie move. Why didn’t she carry her camera properly? Better question yet, why the hell didn’t she ever delete those pictures from the memory card? How exceptionally stupid.

Harry was going to hate her. He wasn’t ever going to forgive her for something like this. Those pictures were going to leak and she was to blame. It was all her fault and she had no excuse for what she did.

The door buzzer went off with Harry’s arrival and it startled Elle to her feet, causing a yelp to erupt out of her mouth. She was busy chewing on her thumbnail seconds before, trying to keep the bile in her throat, thinking of every worst-case scenario to how Harry was going to react. She didn’t even have a best-case to go with. They were all bad.

She quickly made her way to the door and buzzed him up before he got the opportunity to push the button for a second time.

Knowing he was seconds away from being right in front of her face-to-face sent a painful chill down her spine. She was so scared. She was so scared this was going to ruin everything. The amount of feelings she had for him was crippling. She didn’t want _them_ to be ruined. She loved him. She was sure of it.

His knock on the door was boisterous and once again, caused her to jump. Her fragile state couldn’t handle all the surprises his presence was bringing.

Elle bit her lip as she tugged open the door, making sure to hold her breath so she wouldn’t burst into tears at the sight of him. He stood in front of her looking as handsome and sexy as ever, wearing dark blue jeans with a brown belt, a dark denim button up with the sleeves rolled up and hung open revealing his white t-shirt. His hair was perfectly manicured into his signature tuft on the top of his head. And he just looked so amazing.

“Elle, are you okay?” He asked after seeing her distraught face.

“Harry…” She squeaked, unable to say anything else.

“It’s okay, Ace. We’ll get you a new camera,” he said, stepping forward, pulling her into his arms as he simultaneously kicked her apartment door shut.

She felt so much guilt as he comforted her in his arms, but she wanted to feel him one last time before she told him the truth. She wanted to feel his safe arms around her, holding her, loving her.

“I’m so sorry, Harry,” she breathed, pulling back from him.

“For what, babe? It was _your_ camera,” he said, looking at her questioningly, yet keeping all of the sympathy in his eyes.

“ _God_ ,” she choked out as the tears pooled in her eyes.

“Elle, what’s the matter?” He asked, furrowing his brow in concern.

“Harry, _god_ …” She croaked, breaking her eyes away from his.

“Elle…” Harry said, his voice more demanding, wanting to know what was going on.

“I’m sorry,” she said again as the first tear streaked down her cheek.

“Elle, what is going on?” He asked, and she looked up to find that his eyes no longer showed an ounce of sympathy.

“I just… I… the pictures…” She stammered. It took him a moment to register her words.

“Elle, no,” Harry gasped, shaking his head slowly as realization hit him.

“I’m so sorry, Harry. I’m so sorry. I meant—” Elle apologized.

“You—they—our—those pictures?” Harry stuttered, trying to find the right words to ask the right questions.

“I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry,” Elle cried.

Harry’s breathing heightened and seemed ragged and stressed at the realization of what it all meant. He was silent for a little while just trying to wrap his head around it. And then he looked up and his eyes pierced straight through her.

“Why were they still on your camera, Elle!?” Harry asked her firmly, the words sounding sharp and harsh.

It was the most upset she’d ever seen him in the whole time they were in each other’s lives. As a matter of fact, she’d never actually seen him this way, so it was eye-opening.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t think. I forgot to… to delete them,” she stammered, her head a mush of _I’m sorry’s_ that would never be enough to rectify the situation.

“You should have— _God!_ I can’t believe this,” he said, fisting his short dark hair between his fingers for a moment, ruining his perfect look.

“You were mister _camera happy!”_ She shouted back at him, not used to being yelled at. Her self-defenses were kicking in without warning, even though she knew it was her fault.

“Yeah, they were for the _Swiss bank account of folders_ on your computer, Elle. For us!” He snapped at her, his tone audacious and sarcastic.

Elle fell silent, thinking only of how badly she fucked up. It was on her. Why would she leave those pictures on her camera? There was no reason, no excuse.

“I’m sorry, Harry. I never meant… I didn’t…” Elle sighed, feeling defeated and worn.

“What happened?” He asked, with his own sigh, calming down significantly.

“I just… I was out and things got out of hand. There was a really big group of people and we all got pushed back and I fell and I wasn’t hanging on to it by the strap and my camera flew out of my hands and… and… and Lorenzo—” she said in a mass of run-on’s, halting her words with a big fat fucking realization.

“Lorenzo?” Harry asked.

“Lorenzo! Oh my fucking god!” Elle shouted.

“What? What, Elle?” Harry asked, raising his voice too, wondering what the hell she was freaking out about.

“I was searching for my camera on my hands and knees and just, out of nowhere, a camera was thrust in my face. And I grabbed it without even looking at it, sure that it had to be mine. And when I looked up, Lorenzo was standing there telling me to be more careful next time. And I just… I was mind-blown at his generosity. Like, he found my camera for me and… and actually gave it back. But I got home and it wasn’t my camera. I didn’t see it until I got here and it wasn’t mine and… and I’ve been freaking out ever since I realized just what was on the camera. Harry, Lorenzo has my camera!” She explained, feeling ten-thousand times more miserable than she did before.

“Shit,” Harry scoffed, knowing just what it meant. Elle told him enough stories for him to know that Lorenzo was a complete snake.

“I’m so sorry,” she said again as new tears broke free from her eyes.

“ _Shh_ , Elle. I know,” Harry said, gripping her by the back of her head, pulling her to his chest to comfort her.

“What are the chances that he just got the cameras mixed up? Would he just give it back, without question?” Harry asked optimistically.

“Not likely. You don’t know him like I know him,” Elle whimpered against his chest.

“I don’t know him at all,” Harry reminded her.

“I do,” she groaned.

“How well _do_ you know him?” Harry asked, pulling back to look her in the eye.

Elle’s cheeks flushed immediately under his gaze as the question floated disastrously between them.

“How well, Elle?” Harry pressed. Elle scoffed to herself in a heartbreaking _I-don’t-want-to-share-my-dirty-secrets_ kind of way.

“Elle,” Harry said firmly.

“Lorenzo was the first person I ever met in… in the field. I met him at a bar… him and Charlie actually. We all became good friends and they… they both turned me onto the life. But somewhere down the line Lorenzo and Charlie had a falling out and they weren’t friends anymore. And well… I stayed with Charlie,” Elle said, feeling the heat burning in her cheeks as she steadied her gaze on the floor rather than on him.

“There’s something you’re not telling me,” Harry pointed out right away. Elle swallowed hard, realizing the night wouldn’t end without her confession – the whole confession.

“Lorenzo and I used to… we used to sleep together… before the falling out,” Elle said quietly, her mouth going dry with her words.

She heard Harry take a deep breath in and let it out slowly.

“It literally meant nothing to me. And he’s the biggest asshole on the planet, Harry, I swear. It was a mistake,” she pleaded as she finally looked up to meet Harry’s bewildered gaze.

“So you and the guy who has naked, intimate pictures of us have a sexual history?” Harry asked, and Elle could sense he was being a little stand-offish. He was upset and she couldn’t blame him.

“I never meant for this to happen. I never meant… I should never have… I should have taken those pictures off. I’m so sorry,” Elle cried into her hands.

“God damn it, Elle,” Harry scoffed as he began pacing the floor of the small space. She felt absolutely terrible.

“There’s no doubt in your mind that he’s going to release them?” Harry asked quickly.

“That’s who he is, Harry. He doesn’t have any regard for anybody else’s feelings. He… he’s just… he’s in it for himself, for the money,” Elle cried, tears sliding relentlessly down her cheeks.

“Fuck,” Harry growled.

“I’m so sorry.” Elle looked up at him, her whole mind a mess over what she did.

“I… I’ve gotta go, Elle. I’ve got to talk to my team. I’ve got to prepare for… for whatever the fall-out’s going to be. I… _fuck_ ,” Harry stammered in a daze.

“Harry, please,” she pleaded, taking a desperate step toward him. She didn’t know if she could be away from him right now. She didn’t know if he’d come back if she let him go.

“Elle, I _have_ to deal with this,” he barked, causing her to retract her step. His eyes shot up to hers and she could see the sympathy in them once again.

“Listen, I’m sorry,” he said, stepping toward her, gripping her face gently in his hands.

“I know you didn’t mean for this to happen. I just… I have to take care of this. I have to,” he said, looking into her eyes. She nodded helplessly at him.

He leaned down, pressing their lips together sweetly.

“I’ll call you later. I promise,” he told her as he pulled away. She nodded again, but he didn’t see her because he was already to her door, throwing it open.

Without another word, without a goodbye, he disappeared out of her apartment and with everything in her, she hoped it wasn’t for good.

...

Hours passed and Elle lay lifeless in her bed trying not to cry, trying to focus on her breathing. Her heart hurt, her eyes hurt, her brain hurt, her lungs hurt, her stomach hurt – everything hurt. She sent a text to Harry about an hour after he left her apartment and he sent one back immediately saying he couldn’t talk because he was in a meeting with his team. She hadn’t heard a word since. It was now nearing four o’clock in the morning and she still hadn’t got the call he promised.

By the morning, by the time the sun had sprung through the window panes of her tiny apartment, Elle was scouring the internet for any signs of the pictures, but there was nothing. Either Lorenzo didn’t find them, or he was waiting for the precise time to take Elle and Harry both down. She knew it in her heart of hearts it was the latter that would win out in the scenario. There was no way it was an unintentional swapping of cameras. Lorenzo always had a motive and rarely ever slipped up. He was cunning and callous and a snake in every sense.

Sometime during the day, when Elle laid in her bed in and out of consciousness, there was a loud knock at her apartment door. She almost wanted to just ignore it and not even bother to get up out of bed, but a prickling of hope inside of her told her it was Harry coming to finally talk to her, to tell her just what was going on since they last spoke.

She pulled herself out of the bed just as a second knock erupted through the silence.

“I’m coming!” She shouted, twisting her tank top and shorts back into their original position on her body instead of the way all the tossing and turning left them.

She swiftly unlocked the door and pulled it open as hope bubbled up inside of her. And in an instant all those bubbles were popped when she saw Charlie’s scowling face in front of her.

“Oh, it’s you,” she grumbled as she turned and walked back toward her bed.

“’Oh, it’s you’? Really? Thanks,” Charlie said sarcastically as he walked in, shutting the door behind him.

“I’ve had a rough night,” she said, flopping back down on the mattress.

“I can see that. What were you and Romeo doing all night?” Charlie asked suggestively. Elle’s stomach tied in knots at the mentioning of Harry.

“Or… what happened?” Charlie asked as concern washed all over his face, looking at her distressed features.

“I fucked up,” she choked out as she felt tears prickling in her eyes.

“Uh, I might have something to cheer you up,” Charlie said, digging in his messenger bag. Elle watched as he pulled out a camera – _her camera!_

“Charlie!” She shouted, scrambling out of bed to grab the camera from his grasp.

“I knew it would make you happy.” He smiled.

“Holy shit! Where did you—how did you—where did you find this!?” She stammered as relief flooded her whole entire body.

“You’ll never guess.” He smirked at her.

“Not in the mood for guessing games, Charlie.” She shot him a look.

“Lorenzo.” Charlie smiled proudly. Her heart dropped into her ass. _Lorenzo_. He _did_ have her camera.

“What—how… he just gave it to you?” She choked out.

“Yeah. He text me this morning and said he found your camera, accidentally switched it with his or something and he didn’t know how to get ahold of you,” Charlie told her. Elle stood there staring at him blankly.

Were Lorenzo’s words true? Did he just _accidentally_ switch them? Did he even look at her footage? _Oh, god._ She hoped he didn’t. She hoped Lorenzo located an ounce of decency in his hollowed out body and really only accidentally mixed up their cameras.

Elle moved quickly to her laptop, popping out the memory card from her camera in the process. She shoved it in the appropriate slot on her computer and waited as the pictures all popped up one by one. They were all still there. She was filled with relief once again, feeling that just maybe the shit wasn’t going to hit the fan on this one – just maybe the bullet would be dodged completely.

Without hesitation she deleted each and every racy frame off of the memory card, not wanting to ever go through something like that again.

“What has got you going?” Charlie asked, looking at her oddly.

“Nothing. Just, nothing. I am just so happy to have my camera back,” she told him, refraining from filling him in on the indecent picture collection that almost fell into the wrong hands.

“So, listen. I told Lorenzo I’d get his camera back, too,” Charlie told her.

“Oh, yeah. It’s… it’s over on my desk,” she said, closing the top of her laptop, nodding her head toward it.

Charlie spotted it, grabbing it up and putting it in his messenger bag.

“Glad I could make your day, Elle.” Charlie smirked at her.

“I’m glad you could too, Charlie. You have no idea,” she sighed, feeling like she was the luckiest person ever.

“I’ll see you around then? You going out tonight?” He asked.

“I think I might sit this one out,” she told him, still feeling queasy over the situation.

“Lunch soon then?” He asked.

“For sure,” she said, giving him a weak smile.

“Cheer up. Your life has been returned to you.” Charlie smiled, pointing to her camera.

“Yeah.” She smiled and nodded.

“I’ll see you later, Elle,” Charlie chuckled.

“Bye,” she said and watched as he left her apartment.

She grabbed her cell phone off the nightstand and quickly sent Harry a text.

 **_Elle:_ ** _My camera has been returned, pictures and all. :)_

But she got nothing in return and she was certain things were irrevocably different between them already.


	12. Twelve

Two days passed without a word from Harry. Elle was still holed up in her apartment, stuck in a depression knowing it was her fault things were bad between them. It was her irresponsibility that led to the broken trust in their _relationship_ – even though they really didn’t have a relationship. She didn’t know what else to call it.

Her insecurities wouldn’t allow her to call or text him again after getting no response the first few times. She wasn’t going to act desperate over it – even though all she felt was an aching desperation, a _need_ for him. She wanted him to come around when he was ready to. But there was a fear inside of her that almost made her certain he wouldn’t ever find himself ready to forgive her.

...

Elle woke up to a barrage of loud frantic knocks on her apartment door. It was still dark out – the sun wasn’t even up. Everything at this hour left her confused. Before she could really even comprehend what was happening, another set of knocks ripped through the stillness of her apartment just as the ring tone on her cell phone blared out, startling her completely.

“Jesus fucking Christ,” she grumbled as she sat up, throwing off the blankets, sending a chill up her whole body.

She fumbled for her glasses on her nightstand, pushing them on her face as she looked down to see Charlie’s face flashing across the screen on her cell phone. What was with this dude and calling her at the butt-crack of dawn?

She turned on her bedside light and answered the phone in the same instance.

“What is it, Charlie?” She grumbled into the receiver as she ran her fingers through the mess of hair on her head.

“Elle, are you home? Let me in. I need to show you something,” he said quickly, sounding all too riled up for five o’clock in the morning.

She almost forgot there was someone knocking on her apartment door. _Almost_.

“Jeez, calm down. I’m coming,” she mumbled as she meandered toward the door.

Without warning, Charlie ended the phone call and Elle pulled it away from her ear. He sure was acting crazier than usual.

“What is going on?” She asked, opening the door to his frantic looking face.

“Were you sleeping? Have you been online?” He asked immediately, not letting her answer before he continued on, whizzing past her into the apartment.

“Uh, what is going on?” Elle asked him, feeling shell-shocked with his intense mood.

He finally stopped, looking straight at her before he sighed and ran his fingers through his hair.

“It’s none of my business what you and Harry _do_ together, Elle…” He began.

Elle’s eyes went wide as her mouth dropped slightly open at the mentioning of her sexual relationship with Harry. She tried to push back the negative thoughts, hoping Charlie wasn’t going to say what she thought he was going to say – that her worst fears weren’t about to be realized.

“W-what are you talking about?” She stammered as she closed the door.

“There’s pictures, Elle – of you and Harry,” he told her finally.

“Pictures?” She choked out, feeling her whole body start to tingle with apprehension.

He paused, giving her a look of sympathy – and she _knew_. She knew for sure exactly what pictures he was talking about.

“Naked pictures… of you,” he confirmed, looking pained that he had to be the one to break the news.

“Oh my god,” she gasped, feeling her whole world crash down upon her.

“What— did you… did you sell them… or…?” Charlie asked her awkwardly, unsure of how to approach the subject.

“You think _I_ sold naked pictures of myself to a tabloid!?” She spat at him, her voice rising angrily.

“I was just making sure. I just… I don’t know. Kate wanted you to… to use your relationship with Harry to your advantage…” He said, going completely red in the face.

“I would _never—_ ” She choked out.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean… I didn’t want to offend you. I’m sorry,” Charlie said, holding his hands up in a defensive stance.

“ _Lorenzo_. Oh my god.” Elle shook her head as tears stung her eyes.

“Lorenzo?” Charlie questioned.

“He had my camera, Charlie. Lorenzo did this. He stole my camera and my pictures and he fucking sold them, probably to the highest bidder. _Oh my fucking god!”_ Elle growled.

“Holy shit,” Charlie breathed.

“Harry is never going to speak to me again,” she groaned, feeling her emotions building and building inside of her. She wanted to weep over this. She wanted to wallow, but she couldn’t because Charlie was standing in front of her with stupid questioning eyes.

“What are you going to do?” Charlie asked.

“I don’t know. I have no idea,” she said as tears streaked helplessly down her face.

They stood there for a few moments in weighted silence – her mind only dwelling on the worst.

“I just… I just need to be alone right now,” she told him quietly.

“Yeah, sure,” Charlie said, taking a step toward the door.

“Hey listen, Elle. If you need anything, just call,” he said, turning toward her as her squeezed her shoulder in his hand.

“Thanks,” she squeaked out as she wiped at her teary eyes.

He nodded before moving the rest of the way toward the door, leaving her alone like she requested.

She immediately took to the internet to survey the damage – to see just what everyone was saying about the situation. And it was entirely heartbreaking. Those pictures were never supposed to be seen or shared. And now they were displayed on the internet for the whole world to see and judge and critique and criticize.

Elle spent the next hour crying over what happened. She was certain she went through four out of the five stages of grief in that time. Once the depression hit again, she picked up her phone to call Harry. It went straight to voicemail – which was not a surprise, since it was the same for the past three days.

“Hey, it’s me – Elle,” she breathed into the receiver as she began to leave him a message. She didn’t know what she was going to say or what she _could_ say to make it better, but she wanted him to know she was sorry for her part in all of it.

“I’m just… I’m so sorry. I never meant… I never meant for those pictures to get out. I-I… _gahhh_. I am just… I am so… god, I am sorry. I’m sorry you even met me. I’m sorry it escalated to this. I’m just… I’m so sorry. And… and I can’t even—you’re just… you’re just gone now and I-I don’t know how to handle myself. I know I messed up, but if you could just talk to me. Could you please… could you just call me? I never meant for this to happen, Harry. Please,” Elle pleaded, all her desperation apparent in her words and her voice as she left him the message.

...

As the sun rose in the sky and as the day began for many, Elle’s phone began to ring with text messages and calls – all to which she ignored. They all had to do with the pictures that were slowly but surely becoming public knowledge and she just didn’t want to deal with it. The only call she had any interest in was Harry’s – it was the only reason she didn’t turn off her phone.

Between the lulls in phone calls, she let herself close her eyes to the world and lost herself to sleep. But every time the phone rang, she would be thrust back into reality.

She looked down at the phone in her hand and almost lost it when she saw Harry’s picture flash across the screen. It was a picture of him lying in her bed, his head propped up by one of her pillows. He had a Soft smile on his face and it made her heart melt every time she saw it – this time was no different, except the pain in her heart was amplified to go along with it.

“Harry,” Elle breathed, answering the phone quickly.

“Hi,” she heard him say quietly across the other end.

“ _Harry_ ,” she said again in more of a whimper. She wanted to burst out in tears, but she swallowed her emotions back so she didn’t scare him off more than she already did.

“Elle,” he said her name in response and she was certain he meant for her to speak, to start the conversation.

“Harry, I’m so sorry. I’m _so_ sorry,” she told him.

“I know. I got your message,” he said lowly and she couldn’t help but register the coldness in his voice.

“Please, don’t be mad at me. I’m sorry,” she whimpered.

“I’m angry at the situation, Elle,” he told her.

“I’m sorry,” she said quietly.

“Please, just stop… just stop apologizing. I get it,” he told her softly and she could tell he was trying to hold back the annoyance in his tone for her sake.

“Okay,” she said quietly.

“Listen, Elle…” Harry sighed.

Her entire insides contracted at his words, certain it would be the time where he finally let her go. She couldn’t speak. She couldn’t breathe. She was just waiting for the fall-out. She dreaded his words.

“I-I think we need to let this just ride itself out. It might be rough for a while… but, I don’t know. As horrible as this whole situation is, I think we just need to… to wait it out,” he told her.

_Wait it out?_

“Are you there?” He asked after she didn’t respond.

“I’m here,” she squeaked.

“I’m sorry too, you know,” he said quietly.

Her heart squeezed painfully in her chest for him. She hated this. She hated that he was feeling bad for her mistake.

“I shouldn’t have… I shouldn’t have taken those pictures,” he told her.

“Harry, no,” she said quickly.

“I shouldn’t have,” he said again.

“I don’t regret you taking them, Harry. I don’t,” she told him in a pleading tone.

“I don’t regret being with you like that, Elle. But… it was irresponsible to document it like that,” he told her, sounding as if those words were fed to him, like it was something that his _team_ told him to say if asked about the situation.

“ _Gahhh_ ,” she cried out as she felt her tears start anew.

“I’m sorry,” he said again.

“Please, Harry,” Elle whimpered.

“Can I… I’ll call you again soon, Elle,” Harry told her.

“Will you?” She questioned, thinking back to how he said the same thing nearly three days ago and she didn’t hear from him until she left a desperate plea on his voicemail.

“I will,” he assured her.

“Okay,” she said finally.

“I’m sorry this happened. I know it’s more on you – it being your body that’s _shown_. God, I’m sorry,” Harry told her, letting out a deep sigh.

“It’s okay, Harry,” she replied.

“We’ll talk again soon,” he told her again.

“Okay,” she said quietly.

“Bye, Elle,” he breathed.

“Bye, Harry,” she replied before the call was disconnected altogether.

And somehow it felt so _final_. And Elle couldn’t shake that feeling.


	13. Thirteen

As the days passed by, it only got worse. The images of Elle’s naked body with Harry’s hands all over her were splashed all over website after website. It was the scandal of a lifetime – Harry being the squeaky clean boy band member after all. The websites told of their story, starting with the night she asked if he was gay, onto the night they were photographed outside of the _Hyde Lounge_ getting into the cab together, up until all of the recent racy pictures – proof of their sordid affair.

Elle felt like a pariah. She couldn’t show her face in public without her fellow cameramen hounding her with questions about the affair, directly turning her into the center of attention on the other side of the lens, which she never wanted at all – the whole reason she and Harry kept everything on the down low in the first place. Everyone seemed to want a piece of the pie. And when the pie was _her_ – well, it turned into a fucking free for all.

Kate, her agent, was less than pleased with the fact that someone like Lorenzo was reaping the benefits of such pictures. And Elle couldn’t help but feel angry that she was more put off about not being the one to cash in big on the headlines then how it was affecting her and her life.

Elle only heard from Harry through a couple of short phone calls – and _short_ , meaning the length and his demeanor toward her. It broke her heart. She knew things would never be the same with them again and it made the bile rise in the back of her throat thinking of what Lorenzo did.

Pushing aside her sadness, she let the bitterness and resentment consume her. She found herself dressing in her regular paparazzi garb – a t-shirt, jeans and her _Converse_ sneakers. But it didn’t lead her out to work. It led her to Lorenzo’s doorstep, her body nearly shaking with anger. She wanted him to know how she felt about what he did.

She banged so hard on his front door that she nearly split open her knuckles from the force. It didn’t take long before the door was swinging open, Lorenzo standing in front of her, a scowl ever-present on his face.

“Never thought I’d ever see you back here,” he scoffed as his eyes worked up and down her body.

“ _Fuck you_ ,” she spat at him, which only caused him to chuckle.

“Well jeez, Elle. You’ve done that, now haven’t you?” He retorted, smirking deviously at her.

“You think you’re so fucking clever. Don’t you, Lorenzo? God! I can’t fucking believe that… that—I can’t fucking believe _you_ ,” she shouted at him.

“Now, what are you talking about, sweetheart?” He chuckled menacingly, playing dumb – a part he played well. Except she knew better. He was as sharp and cunning as they come.

“You know why I’m here! Why did you do it!?” She yelled at him.

“Do what?” He smirked at her, amused by her anger.

“Why did you steal my camera and sell my pictures!? How dare you! I never thought—why _me_ , Lorenzo? Why would you do that to _me?”_ She asked, nearly getting choked up.

“It wasn’t about _you_ ,” he sneered.

“It wasn’t about me!? They were pictures _of me!_ Of me naked, Lorenzo! What were you even thinking!?” She yelled at him.

“Money, Elle! I was seeing those big fat dollar signs that you and your little boyfriend would rake in. I knew you two were fucking. Everyone knew, even with you two dodging it every chance you got,” he spat at her.

“It’s none of your business! It’s _nobody’s_ business, Lorenzo!” She shouted at him.

“Well now, it _is_ my business, since I got paid for it,” he chuckled, finding humor where she couldn’t.

Everything inside of her just boiled over and she leaned back before thrusting her fist right into his face. He staggered back, gripping onto his cheek, his eyes going dark as he scowled at her.

“You are a piece of shit, Lorenzo! I was right to break things off with you when I did. I shouldn’t have started seeing you in the first place, you fucking sleaze ball! I hope you burn in hell,” Elle yelled at him before turning on her heels and stalking down his sidewalk.

“I’m bleeding, you bitch!” He shouted after her.

“Fucking _sue me_ , you asshole!” She yelled back at him as she stalked toward her car.

After she sped away from the curb, away from Lorenzo altogether, she pulled her cell phone out of her purse and called Charlie to meet up with him. The adrenaline was flowing through her and she didn’t want to waste it by going back to her apartment to sulk about her shitty life.

It didn’t take her long to get to the spot where Charlie was – a club called _Voyeur_ in West Hollywood. Apparently it was a pretty big night for the celeb population at that particular club – some cheesy Hollywood event going on or something. Charlie always had the inside word on things like that. He always knew when things were going down. And then there was her… absolutely clueless.

“How’ve you been?” Charlie asked with a look of sympathy on his face.

“I’m fine. I’m good. I just punched Lorenzo in the face,” Elle told him, feeling hyped up over what just happened. It was a liberating feeling giving Lorenzo what he deserved.

“What?” Charlie gaped at her, wide-eyed.

“Yeah. I went to his house and yelled at him and I just… I fucking punched him as hard as I could. He’s such a god damn prick,” she said, still riled up.

“Wow, Elle. I never thought you had it in you.” He smirked at her.

“Apparently I made him bleed which makes me feel fantastic,” she said, smiling widely.

“I’m sure that would make a lot of people feel fantastic. Lorenzo is a real bastard,” Charlie said as his head turned to see reality star Paris Hilton walk out of the club with her entourage.

Charlie casually pulled his camera up to snap a few shots, but Elle didn’t care enough to get any. If this was five years ago, then sure, she’d get a few shots of Paris Hilton. But now, she was just washed up.

“I feel so… so liberated,” she told Charlie, continuing on with their conversation after the celebutard passed them.

“Good for you,” Charlie said, smiling at her.

“I’m determined to get Harry back and we can just completely bypass all of this,” she told him, feeling more inspiration and motivation than she felt since the whole scandal broke.

“Get him back? You broke up?” Charlie asked, furrowing his brow.

“Well, no. But like… it’s all weird now. We’re… we weren’t really, you know, together in the first place…” Elle stammered.

“You were sleeping together _exclusively_. You were together,” he said, pursing his lips at her and it made her feel like sometimes Charlie was more like a big brother than just a friend.

“But like, we didn’t have a title,” Elle said with a shrug, feeling her cheeks heat up.

“It was only a matter of time,” he added.

“Well, yeah… maybe,” she said quietly.

“He just… he stopped talking to you?” Charlie asked, sounding concerned.

“Well, not completely. I mean, this is a lot to digest, you know. He… he used to be in a boy band, you know. This is scandalous. He’s just, you know, taking a break. We talk… it’s just… things are different now,” she said, trying to explain hers and Harry’s pretty fucked-up existence as of late.

As soon as the two of them heard the snapping of their fellow paps cameras, their head snapped in the direction of the door of the club to see who they’d be shooting next. Elle’s whole entire body froze as her stomach plummeted into her ass.

_Harry._

There he was, as if her mind and mouth made him appear. But with the shock, came the heart-wrenching realization that he wasn’t alone. His ex-girlfriend, Kendal Jenner was on his arm and they seemed to be quite chummy with each other.

“Elle,” Charlie gasped, looking over at her.

Harry didn’t even see her, trying his hardest to impress Kendall by not being the slightest bit fazed by the paparazzi.

“Elle, let’s go,” Charlie said, gripping onto her arm.

“No,” she said firmly, watching Harry casually smile and joke with the cameramen in front of him.

“Elle,” Charlie warned as she shook out of his grasp.

Elle stepped forward to slide into the crowd of paparazzi, feeling almost numb over what she was witnessing. It couldn’t be real, could it? Harry couldn’t really be that big of a douchebag, right? Not _her_ Harry. Elle pushed her way forward, pulling her camera up, snapping pictures of the asshole in front of her.

“Hey, Harry,” Elle sneered and he immediately registered her voice.

And it took about 2.5 seconds for all the people around them to recognize who she was and what relation she had to Harry, because they all took a step back to try to get her in their view-finders.

“Elle,” Harry said wide-eyed, looking straight down the barrel of her camera lens.

“Lovely night. Are you on a date?” She snapped at him as she pulled her camera down to look him in the eye.

“We’re just _friends_ ,” he told her firmly, his jaw clenched tightly.

“Nice to see you, Kendall,” Elle told the girl next to Harry, her voice feigning sugary-sweet, with malicious intent directed at Harry.

“Um…” Kendall said, giving Elle a stuck-up look, like _why is this lower form of life talking to me?_

“Elle…” Harry said quietly, his voice almost pleading with her as Elle’s eyes fixated on Kendall again.

“My advice to you… don’t let your _friend_ , Harry, anywhere near you with a camera. You’re bound to lose all his respect when the pictures get stolen and posted on the internet,” Elle spat at her with as much attitude as she could muster, causing Kendall’s eyes to darken and her jaw to drop from her words.

“Elle, _stop_ ,” Harry snapped at her.

“Fuck you, Harry,” Elle snapped back as she shook her head at him, camera flashes going off all around them.

“Can we talk about this later?” Harry asked, looking around at all the people taking their picture.

“ _Sure_ , Harry,” she said with an overabundance of annoyance in her voice.

“Come on,” he mumbled to Kendall as he placed his hand on the small of her back.

“Let me get a good one of the two of you,” Elle said sarcastically as she started snapping pictures of them trying to flee.

“Elle, please stop,” Harry said to her again.

“Oh, I’m just doing my job,” Elle told him with a wry smile.

He swallowed hard as he continued to walk with Kendall, but Elle made sure to stay two steps ahead of them, snapping picture after pointless picture of them.

“Why are you doing this, Elle?” Harry asked under his breath through his clenched teeth as the paparazzi followed them documenting their petty little fight.

“Because, Harry. This is what I do. And as I recall, you were going to _show me the world_ , weren’t you? So go ahead. Give it to me,” she spat at him, feigning a pleasant demeanor.

“Elle,” he sighed.

“Show me the world, Harry. Show me the fucking world!” She spat at him, letting the anger seep into her tone as her finger pressed into the shutter button over and over, her eyes burning holes into him.

“A lover scorned,” one of the cameramen chuckled.

“Elle, please. Let’s talk later,” Harry said, taking a few extra steps to grab onto her arm.

“What if I don’t want to talk?” Elle growled through clenched teeth as she looked over his shoulder to see Kendall a few steps back on her cell phone, completely abandoning the side-show Elle made her a part of.

“Please, I’m sorry,” he said quietly, trying to keep their conversation private.

“You’re just sorry that anyone ever found out about us,” she spat at him.

“That’s not fair. That was _you_ , Elle. You wanted to keep it private,” he retorted, dropping her arm. She shook her head.

“I wish it was kept that way,” she said, looking away from him as she felt the tears prick her eyes.

“Elle…” Harry breathed as Elle’s first tears fell.

“Give us some space, please,” Harry growled at the cameramen who were nearly chomping at the bit for _more, more, more_.

Harry grabbed onto Elle’s arm and pulled her away from the crowd and surprisingly they gave them a bit of distance.

“God!” Elle growled, pulling her arm out of his grasp as she felt the anger rise inside of her. She wiped away a stray tear that still hung on her cheek.

“I went through _hell_ for you and this is what you do?” She snapped at him, bitterness heavy in her tone. She couldn’t believe this was how it was all going to go down.

“You made yourself look like a coward. Like, when the going gets rough, you just drop everything – no matter who gets hurt in the process. But you know what the worst part is, Harry? You made me look like a fool – like the biggest _idiot_ on the planet! What am I to you? What was I? Just someone to fuck to pass the time? Because it was more than that to me,” Elle lashed out, trying her best to not get further choked up over the fact that he completely broke her heart.

“No, Elle. It wasn’t like that. It wasn’t… I just… I don’t…” He stammered, without a real answer to give her.

“Seriously, Harry. _Save it_. I can’t even look you in the face right now. You disgust me,” she spat at him.

“Elle, please,” he said, his voice sounding strained.

“I hope you got what you wanted,” she told him as she turned away from him just in time for her tears to blur her vision.

“Elle, wait! _Please._ Can’t we just talk? I’ll come over,” he called to her. She turned back to him as she shook her head.

“Oh, no. Not that again. You in my apartment? After _this?_ I don’t think so,” she hissed.

“Just to talk,” he growled through his teeth, showing his annoyance.

“You better take your date home, Styles. She looks pretty upset,” Elle said, looking back behind him again. He turned to look at Kendall, and Elle took the opportunity to move away from him.

“Elle,” he sighed when he saw her backing away.

“Have a nice life,” Elle said her parting words as she turned away from him and moved quickly across the road toward where her car was parked.

“Elle!” She heard Charlie shout after her just as she opened her driver side door.

“What?” She answered back.

“What was that?” He chuckled awkwardly, catching up to her quickly.

“That was me letting go of the high hopes I had for that man to make me happy,” Elle said, feeling the tears spring to her eyes.

Elle looked over and couldn’t even see Harry anymore. The crowd of paparazzi was completely fencing him in and she wasn’t even sorry for her part in it.

“Are you going to be okay?” Charlie asked.

“I’ll be fine,” she told him, knowing it was a complete lie.

“Where are you going?” He asked.

“Home,” she said quietly.

“Call me if you need _anything_ , Elle,” he told her, giving her a look of sympathy.

“I will.” She nodded, slipping into the driver’s seat.

Elle cried all the way home and when she collapsed in her bed, she felt a pain wrap around her heart at the thought of all the nights she spent there with Harry, his arms wrapped tightly around her. How could that mean so little to him? How could _she_ mean so little to him?

She had no idea how long it was, how long she lay sobbing and completely falling apart in her bed over him. She had no idea. But when she heard the banging on her apartment door, she knew it was him right away.

“ _God_ ,” she choked out, sitting up on the bed, wiping at her eyes.

“Elle, please open the door,” she heard Harry’s impatient voice. And she knew she was about to lose it again in a mess of emotions.


	14. Fourteen

“Elle, please open the door,” she heard Harry’s impatient voice.

“Oh my god,” she breathed as she got to her feet, entirely sure she looked like a complete mess.

“I know you’re in there, Elle. Please. I need to explain,” she heard him say as she tip-toed to her bathroom, wiping the smeared makeup from below her eyes.

“I just want to explain,” she heard him sigh as she moved toward the door.

Elle had no idea what he could possibly explain that would make her see him in a different light, to unbreak her heart. But she knew the second he showed up at her door she wouldn’t be able to deny him. She knew she couldn’t shut him out no matter how badly he hurt her.

She slowly unlocked the door and opened it slightly to look up at him through her red, blotchy eyes.

“Oh, Elle,” he sighed, looking more than a little somber.

“What do you want, Harry?” She asked as her lip quivered with emotion.

“Please, Elle. Just let me explain. Let me explain what I’ve been feeling,” he pleaded.

“Why should I?” She snapped at him.

“Because I’m stupid. And you deserve to know just how stupid I’ve been,” he said sadly. Elle scoffed, shaking her head.

“Please, Elle,” he said again.

She stared at him for a few minutes. She knew it was a bad idea. She knew if she looked into those mesmerizing green eyes, she was going to give in. And she could have kicked herself for opening the door wider for him if she didn’t already know that deep down, once again, she would never deny this man.

Harry walked in without a word and Elle watched him, his back to her. She watched as his hands came up and wiped slowly down his face as he let out a deep sigh. And she couldn’t take it anymore. She had to look away from him because it was too painful to see him so distressed. She silently closed the door and turned on the lamp by the couch to illuminate the room around them. Elle’s eyes fixated on the fabric of the couch to avoid looking at him. Memories flooded in her mind of the night they spent on that couch – the couch where the _life-ruining_ pictures were taken. It only made everything worse. It only made his presence standing in front of her that much worse when all she could think about was how badly she missed his hands on her. She was such an idiot. After everything, you’d think she’d learn.

Harry slowly turned around and Elle’s eyes immediately found his.

“Why—” She choked out, trying to keep her emotions held back.

“Elle,” Harry whispered, his face tightening up in a look of anguish.

“Please, Harry. Please stop saying my name and tell me why you… you— _god_ , you’re just as bad as Lorenzo,” Elle growled, breaking her eyes away from him again.

“ _I’m just as bad as him?_ Elle, be real,” Harry said incredulously, his eyes widening to a maddening degree.

“Be real!? Why are you here, Harry? Why did you even come here?” She shot at him.

“I want to explain, Elle. I-I…” He stammered, seemingly frustrated with her, with everything.

“Then explain. Explain away your guilt,” she said with a hint of malice in her tone.

“It’s not—Elle, please. That’s not… I just want… _ugh_ , this is so bloody frustrating,” he said, pushing his fingers through his hair quickly.

“As if I’m not frustrated by all of this too, Harry. As if I’m not the one who has her _shit_ spread wide open for everyone on the internet, okay. Don’t talk to me about frustration and act like I’m not right there with you,” she spat at him.

“Just—stop talking, okay. Just stop,” he snapped quickly, causing her jaw to drop open.

“Let me explain. Elle… god, I’m sorry, okay. I am so sorry,” he said, his facial features and his words softening. Her eyebrows knit together and her heart clenched painfully as she watched the remorse and regret plague him.

“I… I was wrong. I was so wrong and I see that now,” he said, looking straight into her eyes.

“Wrong about what?” She asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

“Wrong about you,” he said, matching her quiet tone.

“About me?” She choked out, her heart feeling as if it was breaking all over again.

He was wrong about her? He was wrong to ever be with her? She was so afraid for him to elaborate on what he said. She was afraid he was about to crush her completely.

“Elle, I thought… as soon as you told me about your past with Lorenzo, I thought… I was led to believe that maybe you weren’t being as honest as I-I trusted you were,” he confessed.

“What?” She asked, her head spinning.

“I-I thought… I mean, there was a sneaking suspicion that when the pictures were leaked that maybe you were behind it,” he finally said, laying it all out for her.

“What?” She choked out, her tears stinging her eyes almost immediately. But she knew she needed to hold herself together, that she needed to choke back the emotion.

“I-I’m sorry. I see it now. I see how honest and beautiful and true you are. I can see it in the way you look at me. I can see it in the emotion you have over what I’ve done. I’m sorry, Elle. I really am,” he said, his voice and words pleading with her.

“You thought—” Elle choked out.

“I’m sorry. It just… it just all seemed so, I don’t know, convenient. You and Lorenzo sharing a past. Lorenzo leaking the photos. And… and the whole losing the camera thing… I don’t know. I’m sorry,” he tried to explain.

“So you were fed this bullshit scenario from someone on your team…” She began, trying to piece it all together.

“It just… it seemed more realistic,” he said quietly.

“And so your first instinct is to believe everyone is out to get you?” She asked him incredulously.

“It’s not the first time,” he said shamefully, his cheeks tinting with blush.

“But, what we had… what we had specifically… you thought—” She said, still trying to wrap her head around it all.

“I’m sorry, Elle. I know now. The second I saw how hurt you were, how affected you were by seeing me tonight, I knew. I knew I was wrong – completely wrong. I’ve been a mess, Elle. I’ve been a mess without you. I-I don’t—” He cut himself off and wiped his hands down his face again in frustration.

“The fact that you would think that of me… that I would just sell you out like that… that’s fucked up, Harry,” Elle croaked out, emotions heavy in her voice.

“Elle, I’m sorry. I know. I’m sorry,” he said, his voice straining slightly.

Elle’s head was _spinning, spinning, spinning_. It hurt a lot that Harry would think so low of her – that he distrusted her so much after everything they went through. It tore straight through her – his words, his actions, his feelings. Tears helplessly slipped down her face because she was shattered.

“I would never—” She choked out.

“I know that now,” he told her, taking a step closer, but backed off when she took a step back.

Harry’s eyebrows furrowed as he looked at her, as he tried to read her, but she had no idea what was even going on in her head, so she knew he’d never be able to figure her out. Her mind was on the brink of implosion. She didn’t know whether to just bury his distrust and just let him hold her and make everything better, or to steady her ground and cut her losses. Because she was lost.

But she knew she didn’t want to be with someone who wasn’t able to give her the benefit of the doubt before completely cutting her out of his life, before traipsing around Hollywood with a new girl on his arm to prove a fucking point. How could she be with someone like that? And it all came back to how different they were from one another. She was sure they would never be able to bridge the gap. She was a photographer and he was her focus. It shouldn’t have gone farther than that and it should not go farther than that. Not from now on.

“Just tell me what I can do, Elle. Tell me what you want,” Harry pleaded with her.

“Maybe we need to just go back. Maybe we just need to live our lives as strangers again. You be you and I’ll just be me… away from each other,” she told him. Harry took a distressed breath in, looking at her like she just told him his dog died.

“Is that what you _really_ want, Elle?” He furrowed his brow at her.

“I… I don’t know,” Elle answered quietly, averting her gaze away from his.

“Because that is the _last_ possible thing I want,” he told her, his voice full of protest.

“I think— I think it would be for the best,” she breathed, her eyes pinned to the floor.

“Look me in the eye when you say it and maybe I’ll believe you,” he said sharply. Elle looked up in his eyes quickly, his green ones piercing hers.

“I think you should leave,” she said finally, standing her ground.

Harry’s hardened stare lingered on her, tearing her apart with a look. He was determined to make her feel every part of him in that one long gaze – and she did. She felt him. And she was sure she’d never stop feeling him.

“If that’s what you want,” he said, a challenge in his voice. He was determined to break her, but she wouldn’t let him.

“It’s what I want,” she said, her voice nearly betraying her as it wavered and cracked with emotion.

And without another word, like all the fight drained out of him, Harry walked toward the door and left the apartment. And Elle knew she would live to regret her decision.


	15. Fifteen

Two weeks passed. Two whole weeks since Harry walked out her door. Elle was drowning. She couldn't breathe without him. She couldn't breathe knowing she was so disposable – that she meant next to nothing to him. She was the one who told him to leave, but a part of her wanted to see some fight in him. If he was truly sorry for doubting her then why did he leave so easily? She hated being wishy-washy. She hated saying one thing but meaning another. But he hurt her and to prevent herself from enduring anymore heartache, she asked him to leave. And he did. And now she was mush. She was a shell of herself. She never felt like this before. Not with any other man. She never felt so complete with someone and so empty without them. He made her this way. He made her love him so completely and now he was just gone, leaving her barren.

Elle wasn't herself and people closest to her were catching on. She worked on auto-pilot for nearly two weeks, which concerned Charlie to a great degree. He knew things were rocky with Harry, but Elle didn't tell him about Harry showing up at her doorstep or the circumstances surrounding his visit. She didn't want to talk about it because it would just make it that much more real and harder to bear.

"Is it really over?" Charlie asked as they stood outside the _Roosevelt Hotel_ waiting on some kind of celebrity sighting.

Elle looked up at him, her eyes wide and feral. Two weeks and he hadn't mentioned it and now of all days – a day she couldn't get Harry out of her mind, he decided to bring it up.

"I mean, are you?" He stammered, looking at her sympathetically, like he knew how much she was hurting just by the look she gave him. She looked away and let out a sigh.

"I don't know. I guess," Elle said quietly, rubbing her eyes with her knuckles. She didn't wear any makeup because she just didn't care anymore. Who did she need to be beautiful for anymore?

"You guess?" He asked. She shot him a glare. She didn't really want to talk about it, but Charlie was never one to let something go. He chipped away at you until you spilled all your secrets. Elle was sure that's what made him such a great paparazzi.

"I'm just concerned, Elle. You're... different. You're broken," he said with a sympathetic half-smile that showed more signs of sadness than a smile should.

"Of course I'm broken. He broke me," Elle said quietly. It was more accusatory than anything. _He_ broke _her_.

"Because he was with another girl?" Charlie question carefully.

"No." Elle shook her head slowly, looking down at her feet.

"Elle, you can talk to me, you know. It's all off the record. Our friendship is off the record, okay. I'm not Lorenzo," he reminded her.

"You could never be Lorenzo," Elle retorted.

"So then talk to me. I know you need to talk about this. Please, talk to me," he said with a pleading tone in his voice.

Elle looked up at him tentatively and saw genuine concern in his eyes. Charlie was her best friend, for better or worse, he was always there.

"Harry—he... he thought I... that I was the one to leak the pictures. That I was conspiring with Lorenzo," Elle choked out.

"What?" Charlie said sharply.

"He... someone on his team convinced him it could have been me who leaked the pictures. And... and that's why he disappeared, why we found him with another girl. He was trying to forget me or whatever," she explained with a passive shrug of her shoulders, because she couldn't spend any more time thinking about how it tore her apart.

"Holy shit," Charlie sighed.

"I-I told him if he thought that low of me then he should leave and... and he did," she said, feeling her tears well in her eyes.

"Wait. When did this happen?" Charlie's eyebrows furrowed.

"That same night. He showed up at my apartment," she told him.

"So he just went there to accuse you of leaking your own naked pictures?" Charlie snapped with annoyance heavy in his tone that was directed toward Harry.

"Well, no. He came to tell me he didn't think that anymore. Not after the way I reacted to him and Kendall. He knew by my reaction that I was genuinely hurt and that I genuinely care for him. But he like... I just can't... I just can't get passed the fact that he just blew me off because he thought I was just some gold-digger. Like, he didn't even give me the benefit of the doubt and that just... that just doesn't work for me," Elle explained, shaking her head, her heart filling with disappointment once again as she rehashed everything she was trying to forget.

"As it _shouldn't_. I'm proud of you, Elle. Just because he's some hot-shot celebrity doesn't mean you need to fall at his feet. You held yourself together." He smiled, wrapping his arm around her shoulder.

"Except now I'm falling apart," she told him, feeling the pain tighten in her chest.

"You're strong, baby girl. You'll get through this," he assured her.

And she wanted so badly to believe him, but she wasn't sure.

...

The moment Elle got home that night she was bombarded by memories of Harry and the short time they spent together. Everything was a painful reminder of him. She was sure she would need to move to escape the flashbacks in her mind every time she stepped foot over the threshold of her apartment door. _Painful_ wasn't even the right word to use to describe how it felt. It was so much more than that. _Crippling_ came closer, but still didn't have enough description and depth to it.

Elle walked into her tiny kitchen, flipping on the light and immediately grabbed for the lone bottle of vodka that sat atop her refrigerator. Harry brought it over one night and they barely drank from it before the urge to ravage one another took over. Now it sat there taunting her. So why not take advantage of it? He wouldn't be back for it. And if he really cared about a stupid bottle of vodka... then she didn't even know.

She grabbed herself a glass from the cabinet before unscrewing the top of it. She paused before bringing the lip of the bottle to her mouth, bypassing the glass altogether. It seemed appropriate at the time. It seemed like it might get her drunker faster if she just pulled from the bottle.

Elle felt the burning taste of the vodka all the way down her esophagus and her face puckered into a look of pure disgust. Vodka wasn't her first choice for taking shots, but whatever. She didn't care about much these days. Without even chasing the harsh liquid with anything, she took a few more pulls from the bottle before she set it down on the countertop, letting a low hiss escape from her mouth as she tried to recover from the horrid taste.

She just wanted to cry or die or something, but she knew after nearly fourteen nights of crying herself to sleep, it was getting a little out of hand. Did he really deserve that much of her?

Elle made her way toward her bed, wobbling on her feet, the liquor taking effect almost immediately. She flipped off the light in the kitchen on her way out, leaving herself in complete darkness. She just wanted sleep to swallow her whole. She let out a large sigh before falling backwards onto the bed. She pressed the heels of her palms into her eye sockets and let out a large breath. She wanted to shut her eyes and close herself off to the world. She wanted to shut off her brain so she didn't have to think. She wanted to break off all ties to her heart to escape the despair she felt. Too bad it wasn't that easy.

...

Elle woke with a start. A loud banging on her door riled her from her unconsciousness. She laid there for a moment longer trying to settle her startled heart before attending to the unexpected visitant. She pulled herself up to sitting and rubbed her eyes just as another tempered banging erupted on her apartment door.

"Hold on," she grumbled as she got to her feet.

Her legs drug her to the door, her hand finding the door knob in the dark as she unlocked it. But she froze when her eye found the tiny peephole that was illuminating light through it. _Who was at her door at this time of night?_

Just as she went to look, she was startled by his voice.

"Elle, _please_ ," she heard him plead.

 _Harry._ Oh, god.

Her hand moved away from the door knob as she took a step back.

"Elle," he sighed.

Her heart was pounding nearly out of her chest as the panic set in and began rising rapidly.

"Elle, I know you're there. Please let me in," Harry said through the door.

What could she do? He heard her unlock the door. _The door—_

Just as she had the thought, she heard the turning of the door knob and watched wide-eyed as the light flooded her dark apartment as the door slowly opened. And then he was standing there in the opened doorway, the light framing him in like a fucking angel and she _couldn't_ take it anymore. She wanted to explode.

"Elle, god... you just... _god_..." He groaned. And her brain finally started working, because she registered that he was drunk.

Her eyes shot down to the set of car keys in his hand and the anger and fearfulness exploded inside of her.

"Did you _drive_ here, Harry? You're... you're drunk," she stammered, her tone clipped.

"I needed to see you," he told her as she reached over to flip on her apartment light, illuminating the entire space.

"You can't just... _gahhh_ , Harry. What if you got caught driving like this? What if you got hurt or hurt someone else? That was _really_ stupid," Elle lectured him.

"I _needed_ to see you, Elle. Don't you get it?" He said sharply.

"At what expense!?" She yelled at him, throwing her hands up in the air.

"At _any_ expense!" He shot back, taking a bold step closer.

Elle's eyes shot up to his, looking at him expectantly. She needed an explanation, a reason he was there. This was too much. What was he even doing?

"Harry, what do you want?" She sighed, feeling absolutely defeated.

"You," he said without missing a beat.

Her eyes focused on his again as she felt her insides melt with his confession. How did he have such a hold on her? How could he possess her so thoroughly? Her head spun and her stomach churned with the warmth of the vodka in it. She didn't sleep long, but the alcohol had more than enough time to run wild through her veins, making her light-headed and unfocused.

"Harry," she sighed, letting her eyes drop away from his.

"I'm not done, Elle. You... you asked me to leave and I did. But _fuck_ , Ace, I can't stay away," he confessed. Just the sound of his nickname for her rolling off his tongue sent her body into withdrawals for him.

"Harry," she said again, because she couldn't seem to find any other words. His presence made her mush and his absence made her mush. She no longer felt like a solid person.

"Elle," He breathed as their eyes connected and he took another step forward.

Elle swallowed hard, feeling her face flush as her breathing hitched. He was so incredibly beautiful. It was washing away her distasteful feelings like a tidal wave.

How did she become a woman who fell apart over a guy, in and out of his arms? She was not raised to be that way. She had values that sometimes made her headstrong to a fault, but with Harry it was like nothing else mattered but being with him.

"You hurt me," she managed to croak out.

"I know, babe. And I'll do anything to make it up to you," he told her, reaching up to tangle his fingers in her hair, gripping onto the back of her neck. His eyes never left hers.

"You're drunk," she reminded him.

"I'm thinking clearly," he assured her.

"Harry," she whimpered as his face moved in slowly, her eyes locking on his lips.

"Elle," he whispered before capturing her lips with his own.

She was intoxicated by him. Her head was spinning as her fingers gripped tightly at the front of his shirt, nearly clawing at him to bring him closer to her as his tongue slipped in her mouth, tangling with her own. Her traitorous body craved him more than anything it ever felt in its entire existence. She wasn't sure what willpower she could muster up, if any. And she didn't think she wanted to even if she could.

She wasn't aware he was leading her toward the bed until the back of her legs hit the mattress and he was tumbling down on top of her. But they weren't thrown. Their mouths found each other again almost immediately. The vodka lowered her inhibitions and the gaping hole that was left in her heart after him was begging to be filled. She didn't stand a chance.

"You consume me, Ace," Harry breathed against her lips, causing her to let out a groan.

 _He_ consumed her completely – every breath, every thought, everything second.

"I want to... _gahhh_ , Ace. You—" Harry said pulling up, shaking his head. Elle opened her eyes to find his shut tightly.

"What, Harry?" She questioned, bringing her hands up to cup his face. His eyes opened and found hers.

"I have so much I want to say to you. But, I just... I feel like... I feel like you'll think it's just a cop out – that I'm just saying it to... to get back with you," he said, sounding distressed.

"Say it," she told him.

"Ace," he breathed, but her eyes were burning into his and he knew she wouldn't let it go.

"Say it," she repeated, waiting on baited breath.

Harry let out a sigh, dropping his head down between his arms for a moment before looking back up into her eyes, his own fill with such an intense desire – for what, she didn't know. Her, perhaps? Her body was already on high alert for his touch, for his anything. And now she was longing for him to tell her everything he held back.

"I-I... I love you, Ace. I fell in love with you," Harry confessed, taking her completely by surprise. Her breathing caught in her throat as she looked up into his intense eyes.

"Harry—" Elle croaked out.

"I think I loved you before I even knew you, Elle. And... and when this... when this all happened and I thought—god, I was so heartbroken. I wanted so badly to believe you didn't do... that you... _gahhh._ I'm so sorry," he told her, his voice breaking with true emotion.

"I'm no good for you," Elle managed to say through her own emotion.

"I don't care. And _yes_ , you are," he protested, shaking his head.

Elle gripped his face again, kissing his lips. And he kissed back, showing her exactly how he felt.

"I'm scared to love you," she breathed against his lips.

"Don't. Don't ever be. Elle. I-I... I just want to make you happy. Since I met you, that's all I've wanted. Don't be afraid," he told her as he shook his head.

"I've felt the pain of being away from you. It's like I'm left with nothing at all," she said, squeezing her eyes shut tightly, unable to look at him through her confession.

"Same, Elle. Same. I never—I never want to feel that again, okay. I want you. I want you in my life. I want to hold your hand and kiss your lips and make love to you every single night and mornings and afternoons and whenever you want," he said, giving her a sneaky smile.

"God," Elle laughed, thinking about how much stamina they'd both need for that amount of sex.

"Whatever, whenever – just as long as I'm with you. And I mean that, Elle. Screw everything else. Screw the media. Screw the cynics and the skeptics. Screw them, okay. I want your heart," he said, pressing his palm against her chest, right above the organ that beat solely for him.

Elle felt her tears slide smoothly down the sides of her face.

"You have my heart," she croaked out through the lump in her throat.

"That's all I've ever wanted," he sighed as their lips connected once again.

Their kisses were more demanding, more desire-filled. As if they'd both stop breathing if they ever stopped kissing. They only slowed momentarily to peel away an article of clothing here and there.

Harry's movements were slick and smooth, worshiping Elle's body. His lips and tongue moved smoothly up the long expanse of her exposed torso, sending tingles throughout her extremities. His fingers dug into her flesh, keeping her writhing body in place. It almost felt like a dream to have him like that again. The scenarios she imagined for the past two weeks were complete torture – but this... this was something else, some other form of torture – one she was willing to endure over and over again.

His hands slid up her body, cupping around her bra-clad breasts, squeezing them before his fingers pulled the fabric away, exposing each nipple. His mouth encompassed the left one, toying and teasing it with his hot wet tongue. A moan escaped Elle's throat as her back arched up from the mattress.

"Oh, Ace. Your body missed me," he breathed against her sensitive flesh.

"Mm-hmm," she agreed fully, biting at her bottom lip.

She felt his teeth lightly nip at the bud, sending wild sensations throughout her.

"God, Harry," she groaned.

"Mmm," he hummed against her skin as his mouth slid down the valley between her breasts and came back up the other side, sucking her right nipple into his mouth – using the same powerful technique he did before to drive her insane.

As his body moved up her own, his lips found hers, his hips falling perfectly between her open legs.

"I want us to be more," he breathed against her mouth.

"More?" She questioned.

"I want all of you, Elle," he told her.

"Everything?" She questioned breathlessly.

"Everything and more," he confirmed.

"You have it," Elle told him, meaning it completely.

"I want to hold your hand and kiss your lips as we're walking down the street," he continued, causing her breathing to hitch. He wasn't kidding. He wanted _everything_.

"I told you I wanted it all," he reminded her.

"You... you can have it," she said finally, weighing the pros and cons of what he was asking.

Nothing could get her to go back to the way things were without him by her side.

"You promise?" He asked, quirking his eyebrow at her.

"I'm baring myself completely for you. You have me, Harry," she told him.

"It's all I ask." He smiled sweetly at her with an excitement in his eyes that warmed her. And she realized she loved making him happy more than anything.

His lips pressed against hers firmly, enveloping her own with his kisses. His hips rocked into hers, causing her to throw her head back with a loud gasp. Harry took the opportunity to kiss down her neck and throat, his hand sinking lower and lower down her body until it was buried in the front of her panties.

" _Oh_ _,_ Harry," Elle moaned as his fingers slipped down her cleft, sinking into the wetness.

"You're so ready for me," he cooed with a smirk.

"Mm-hmm." She nodded, licking her lips, her eyes completely hooded with desire.

The drive that knowledge gave him was truly breathtaking. There was barely breathing room between the time he removed both of their underwear and the moment he knelt between her legs, ready to press in.

Harry hiked up each one of her legs against his hips as he pulled her body closer to his before slowly pushing himself inside, sinking slowly into her. Elle let out a sated sigh as he buried himself completely, their hipbones pressed together as he kissed her lips. She felt so full with him thoroughly entombed inside of her.

"Oh god, Harry. _Please_ ," Elle whimpered, needing him to move, to send her over the edge. She needed him like she needed the air in her lungs.

"Don't worry, baby," he assured her as he slowly pulled back and began a slow rock, in and out of her. He moved slowly and passionately at first before really gaining his momentum, leaving her gasping for breath.

"Harry—" Elle choked out as she felt the unrivaled feelings of orgasm coursing through her body, sending her head spinning. Harry rocked his hips faster and faster to send her spiraling.

"I love you so much," she whimpered as her body writhed below him.

His lips pressed firmly, almost painfully to hers, stifling out her last whimpers as the pleasure raced through her body. When his own orgasm shot through him, he groaned against her mouth before burying his face into the nape of her neck. She held him tightly as he rode it out, leaving both of them breathing heavily, their bodies slick with perspiration.

After a few moments Harry slipped out of her, but didn't move away.

"I want to hear you say it outside of orgasm," Harry said, pulling up to look her in the eye.

Elle looked up at him as her heart beat faster and faster. He wanted to hear that she loved him. How could he not know?

"I want to hear you say it again," he told her.

"Harry," Elle breathed. His eyes blinked, his eyelashes fluttering, but he never looked away.

"I'm so in love with you it hurts," she told him truthfully. His unwavering smile because of her words was enough to make her stomach do flip-flops.

"I'll always be here to make you feel better," he told her.

"Promise?" She smirked at him.

"Always." He nodded before leaning in to kiss her lips.

And she couldn't believe how easy it was – how easy loving Harry was and how surprising it was to her that he was always there to keep his promise.

...

_**One month later** _

"Have I mentioned how beautiful you look tonight?" Harry smiled at Elle from across the small table at the restaurant they were dinning at together.

_He did. Many times._

The best part was the way his eyes smiled right along with his lips. It was Elle's way of knowing he was telling the truth. He saw every part of her, his eyes never wandering. It was like she was all that mattered to him and it made her feel like the luckiest girl in the world.

"I love you," she breathed, smiling back at him, feeling like a lovesick teenager.

"I love you." He smiled back fondly.

"Can I get you anything else?" Their very pretty, very flirty waitress asked, staring straight at Harry, ignoring Elle completely.

"The check, please," he said, handing her his black _AmEx_ , never taking his eyes off of Elle.

"Right away," she said quickly, and Elle looked up at her for a split second and saw the disappointment flood her face because Harry didn't give her the time of day through their entire dining experience, other than signing a quick autograph for her when they first arrived.

"She wants to sleep with you," Elle said matter-of-factly, smirking at him after the waitress walked away from the table.

"I want to sleep with _you_ ," he countered, smirking back. Elle felt her cheeks heat up as her eyes swiftly darted around the small restaurant, wondering if anyone heard him.

Harry licked his lips and bounced his eyebrows once at her.

"Naughty," Elle breathed lowly, sending him a suggestive look.

"You haven't seen anything yet," he promised and she felt her insides clench as the desire pooled inside of her.

Their eyes stayed on each other as the waitress approached again. It was like a seductive staring contest, in which Elle had no doubts he would win. She could _feel_ the frenzy of pheromones he was emanating and she knew he wouldn't be satisfied until he had her beneath him. And to be completely honest – she had no plans of being any type of challenge. He had her. He possessed her. She _craved_ him.

"Here you are. Thank you, Mr. Styles. I do hope you enjoyed dining with us tonight," the girl spouted off, begging for any type of attention from him.

"Thank you," he told her, barely throwing her scraps as she metaphorically fell at his feet.

Harry's eyes only broke their hold on Elle to look down to sign the astronomical bill and then they were back on her.

"H-have a great evening," the waitress said finally.

"Thank you," Elle said, smiling politely at her. She smiled uncomfortably back before she turned and headed to the hostess podium where she immediately began chatting with the blonde who was stationed there.

"Are you ready?" Harry asked.

"Does that question have a double meaning?" Elle smirked at him.

"You know me well." He smirked back as he stood up and took her hand in his, helping her to her feet.

"I learn quickly," Elle giggled as Harry leaned in and left a swift kiss on her lips.

"One of the many things I love about you." He smiled before they turned and made their way out of the restaurant, his hand on her lower back.

Once they broke through the threshold of the restaurants front doors, they were bombarded by a small sea of paparazzi and their cameras. Harry looked over at Elle, looking almost worried about how she would react. But in an instant, his lips turned up into a smile and he grabbed ahold of her hand, intertwining their fingers together.

"Let's go, Ace," he told her, leaning in to leave a light kiss on her temple as the cameramen continued their rapid snapping of pictures.

"Let's." Elle smiled slyly back at him, knowing where the evening would take them.

They walked hand-in-hand through the barrage of flash bulbs and the questions being thrown at them. Harry stood strong, answering the questions he felt like and ignoring the others. Elle kept her mouth shut because she never knew what to say. Harry was well-versed in this, whereas Elle was more familiar being the prying personality. Maybe that's why she and Harry got along so well. She could dish it out and he could take it. They bounced off each other in a way that made their relationship unique and Elle loved that about them. She loved him.

"So is this thing more than a fling?" One of them asked the couple. Elle and Harry just looked at each other with sneaking smirks that Elle was sure everyone caught onto.

She could see the headline now. _Finally official?_ _Harry Styles dating camera girl who inspired gay controversy._

The thing about Elle now versus Elle a couple of months prior was that being thrust on the other side of the camera didn't bring on the anxiety like it used to. Because now she had Harry by her side and she knew he wasn't going anywhere. And that was all the comfort she needed.

"You could say that," Harry said finally, with a salacious grin on his lips.

After everything they went through, after all the press and the stress, they finally found their footing. The strength she felt with him by her side was life-changing and it was something she would never give away or give up on ever again.

In the end she knew it was true what they say – _life is like photography, we develop from the negatives._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **THE END.**  
>  I really hope you liked the story! Let me know what you think of it! <3


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